A review by jarrahpenguin
North of Normal: A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood, My Unusual Family, and How I Survived Both by Cea Sunrise Person

4.0

Cea Sunrise Person's memoir of growing up in the western Canadian wilderness and the trauma of her upbringing is a page turner. From the earliest pages we get the background on Person's family, from her grandpa, Papa Dick, who moved the whole family into a tipi in the bush where they could live as he believed nature intended, to her mother, Michelle, struggling with drugs and toxic relationships after giving birth to Cea as a teen. The story is a bit hard to read, as it's told with childlike eyes until Cea the narrator is old enough to realize for herself how she's been neglected and abused. But it's also compelling and Person's attempt at balancing her anger at her family with her understanding for why they behaved like they did, is notable.