Crack Dwellers a novel...
Living in the gorgeous Southern California beach city of San Diego, Crystal Ackerman cannot easily ignore how much a woman’s appearance really does matter. And since her size 20 body does not conform to society’s ideal, she feels as though she has fallen through the cracks, isolated and lonely.
At 33 years old, Crystal has a good career as an attorney, and has accepted her large size. But her past, and society’s insidious rejection of overweight people, have caused her to retreat deeply inside herself. Her inherent longing for meaningful connections with others drives her to hide a listening device in the women’s restroom at her law firm to overhear, and be part of, other women’s conversations.
When Crystal is given the opportunity to work on a wrongful death trial against a popular fashion magazine, You’ve Got the Look!, her life starts to change. You’ve Got the Look! is being sued by the parents of a teenage girl who died after developing anorexia during her struggle to obtain the physical perfection depicted in the computer-enhanced photographs of You’ve Got the Look!.
In the course of her work on the trial, Crystal revisits her own past, and her own journey to accept herself regardless of her body’s size. That experience, along with some surprising truths revealed in the women’s restroom, and a few unexpected encounters with other “crack dwellers,” lead Crystal to ultimately embrace herself more fully, including her ability to form nurturing friendships with the women around her.
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Read the prologue from Crack Dwellers
