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In her stunning and often times startling new memoir, Crystal Chappell lays it all on the line about her childhood, her relationships, and her professional life in The Perfect Art of Imperfection: My Life So Far.

Chappell’s memoir was released just before the new year, and is already generating quite the buzz. In it, she chronicles her confusing childhood complete with often times absent parents, her two cases of molestation (one when she was very young and another when she was a teen) and her search for her true passion in life. The reader also learns about her first marriage to Scott Fanjoy that was instrumental in kick-starting her acting career! And while the dissolution of her marriage to Fanjoy was happening, she met and fell head over heels for her then current DAYS co-star, Michael Sabatino, and her husband to this day.

We also become enlightened to some of Chappell’s deep demons including: her penchant for self-mutilation, her battle with post-partum depression after the birth of her sons, her drinking, the stress of playing Salem’s Carly Manning, and how her co-stars often made things quite challenging for her including: Guiding Light’s Robert Newman and Kim Zimmer, Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso at DAYS, and the replacement Bo, Robert Kelker Kelly!

It is Chappell’s long-rumored feud with Kristian Alfonso that is brought up inside the memoir, and is a must-read for soap fans. As it is told, when Chappell returned for her second stint on DAYS in 2010, things were quickly being sabotaged by Alfonso and then things began to go south for the Daytime Emmy winner behind-the-scenes.

In an exclusive excerpt when relating what went down after she re-joined the show with then DAYS Co-EP’s Gary Tomlin’s support, Chappell wrote, “Somehow, with no effort or even awareness on my part, two camps evolved. It became the Kristian Alfonso/Ken Corday camp vs. the The Crystal Chappell/Gary Tomlin camp, and everyone apparently felt compelled to pick a side for the preservation of their jobs. The crew and even a couple of directors began feeling as if they had to pull me offstage, out of sight, and whisper if they wanted to pay me a compliment.”

When Chappell learned that DAYS EP, Ken Corday, wanted her off the screen and given less airtime, (after trying to shepherd Carly Manning into stories that did not directly involve Bo and Hope) things took a drastic turn for Crystal. In fact, when Corday told Gary Tomlin to get Crystal off the screen, because it was her fault that the ratings had plummeted, Crystal revealed in this exclusive excerpt, “I wish I could say that personally, off-screen, I handled it all with grace and dignity. Unfortunately, that would be a lie. I felt diminished. I felt unfairly targeted. I felt bullied. I felt as if showing up on time, lines learned and ready to work on whatever material I was given counted for nothing. I felt as if my soul was in pain and shrinking fast. I began disliking who I was and who I was becoming. I was torn between wanting to go to work every day and dreading it at the same time, wishing the air there would somehow magically clear and knowing it wouldn’t. To lower my confidence level even further – and I take full responsibility for this – I reverted to some old, tired, habitual self-destructive behavior. I began hurting myself again, especially scratching myself hard enough and deep enough to leave marks while I slept.”

There is also a shocker that DAYS recently asked her to return again as Carly! Her answer to that appears in the memoir, too.

But with several heartbreaking circumstances which include the cancellation of Guiding Light and the ending of the beloved Otalia romance, came some greater good as well! Chappell shares many letters from fans all across the globe that inspired her to continue on telling a same-sex love story, and thus Venice was born! And with Venice, Chappell became the entrepreneur, the innovator and online pioneer, and we learn of her struggles to master the art of online programming, and her deep devotion to her fans.

The Perfect Art of Imperfection: My Life So Far is a straight from the hip, unguarded, and intimate account from one of the most talented performers ever to come from the daytime genre, whose incredible passion and ability to touch many has made a profound impact. With self-effacing humor, wit, and emotion, Chappell’s memoir strikes all the right chords.

To purchase your copy of The Perfect Art of Imperfection: My Life So Far there are several ways to obtain it. To get your PDF version, visit all three of Chappell’s online stores at The Grove, Venice, and CCnFriends. and you can buy it for only $9,00! There is also a color photo gallery from Chappell’s private collection that comes with the memoir In addition, an online Kindle version will be available soon on Amazon.com, and the memoir will come out in paperback come March of this year.

So soapers, what do you think about the excerpts from Crystal’s memoir on her time at DAYS? Will you pick up a copy? Let us know!