Publisher's Synopsis
When Signe Dayhoff is seven years old, she is told she is "unacceptable" by the father she desperately seeks to make love her. Because of his own deep-seated problems, he bullies her: blaming, belittling, criticizing, and emotionally abandoning her. Decades of this abuse leave her with the scars of social anxiety, anger, distrust, and low self-confidence. However, she is a survivor. That small voice in the inner reaches of her brain tells her she can, somehow, make herself "acceptable to be loved"-whatever that is supposed to mean. As she struggles to accomplish this nebulous goal, her efforts are not always smart or useful, and are sometimes self-sabotaging. Still she learns and grows. Intuitively she knows she needs a bold, larger-than-life image with which her inner-self can identify. That isn't her brow-beaten mother. As a result, she recruits Katharine Hepburn's strong, assertive, no-nonsense movie persona as her role model. Soon her mantra becomes, "What would Katharine Hepburn do in this situation?" This often leads to some amusing scenarios. Serious, humorous, and adventure-filled, this autobiographical novel follows the author on her rollercoaster ride of self-discovery about what acceptability means and "whose" acceptability really matters. Ultimately she overcomes her past and forges for herself kick-butt empowerment and a compassionate recovery.
