North of Normal audiobook

After reading the Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls I was hungry for more stories of interesting unconventional styles of living when I stumbled upon this book sitting on the shelves, I grabbed it and noticed I had picked up an uncorrected proof copy not letting that bother me I dug in and what a story! A young girl living with her young mum and her hippy pot smoking Grandparents, two Auties and one Uncle live completely off the grid first in California and then in the Canadian wilderness with no electricity or running tap water. They hunt and gather their food and make their own shelters and live in simple teepee's that are completely subjected to the wild elements, rain, storms and freezing cold temperatures. They live completely self sufficiently and this tells the many crazy stories of drugs, nudity and free love that inhibits her world. Despite this completely free but alternative lifestyle Cea craves a mother who actually mothers and all she can imagine is a "normal" conventional life with normal parents. It takes us through Cea's early childhood recollections to present day, and how she deals with her completely unusual upbringing and how it impacts her adult life. If you enjoy memoirs that give an insight to a different alternative life this is highly recommended.

Looking back, I can see that it all started to fall apart with my first marriage. Until then, I had marveled to myself almost smugly about how unaffected I was by my crazy past and family. Even as my career took off in my late teens and early twenties, I fell into none of the typical pitfalls that many survivors of challenging childhoods did; I never did drugs, I had a healthy relationship with food, I didn’t engage in casual sex, and I only drank as much as my friends did. But for me, it was my craving for normal — that dangling carrot that seemed always just beyond my reach — that would be my undoing. North of Normal holds its own against other memoirs of bizarre childhoods — The Glass Castle or Running with Scissors — and it’s always amazing to me when someone like Cea Sunrise Person (or Jeannette Walls or Augusten Burroughs) seems to turn out okay. Born into a family of nomadic, nudist, free-loving, pot-smoking hippies, Person could well have fallen through every crack — her childhood was one of no structure, no stability, no sexual discretion among the surrounding adults — but having had glimpses of “normal” throughout the years, she left home at thirteen to become a globe-trotting supermodel; in effect becoming the face of the consumerist society that her grandparents fled when they started their journey north. This is an incredible story, well told; a story of surviving an unconventional childhood, and then recognising and embracing the strengths that experience provided. (It is only by coincidence that I just learned a film based on this memoir is currently showing at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival; I hope it generates even more interest in this fine book.) The idea that had been brewing in his mind since his teens was pulling at him stronger than ever now. He had heard talk about a movement up north in Canada, a land known for its harsh climate and gentle handling of disillusioned Americans. But a new country was only the start of my grandfather’s plan. He knew how to hunt, how to survive in the wild, and he had some exciting ideas about shelter. What his kids needed was fresh mountain air and dirt between their toes. If he could just get them away from the city and into nature, back to the basics of food, water, clothing and shelter, they might still stand a chance. Cea’s grandfather — Papa Dick — first decided to find a piece of Canadian wilderness for his family when he realised that his four teenaged children were failing to thrive in California: all were dropouts who smoked weed all day (with their parents) and brought random strangers home at night; the oldest daughter regularly got beat up by her Hells Angels boyfriend; the only son routinely dropped acid and was teetering on schizophrenia; the mentally challenged youngest daughter (at 13) brought home new guys every night; and their fifteen-year-old daughter just found out she was pregnant. They eventually ended up in northern Alberta — gaining permission from a band of Cree to set up their homemade teepee on Native land — and for the next few years, the Person family lived off the land, with Papa Dick running wilderness survival camps to make a small income. Cea’s early childhood was one of running naked through the meadows, savouring bear meat, and turning her back to the sounds of her mother having sex with strangers in the small shelter they shared. Cea’s mother eventually took her on the road with a series of losers — always high, usually topless, generally having sex in front of her distressed daughter — and while Cea always dreamed of returning to the freedom of her grandparents’ camp, when they did return (now to the Yukon), she was forced to realise that the no-rules lifestyle existed because her grandparents didn’t really care about anyone else. Cea and her mother would next move to Calgary — existing just above the poverty line, more or less supported by the Mom’s married boyfriend — and it was while she was in high school there that Cea saw just enough "normal" to want her piece of it. When I got back to my room, I stood gazing at the collage over my bed. I had found the frame in our back alley, and spent hours pasting into it pictures of models cut from magazines. I took a deep breath and stood up tall. The idea that had been in my head for so many years now suddenly seemed a lifeline. There was one way to escape my crazy family, and all I had to do was grab hold of it. There are some of her early modelling photos among the pictures in this book — proving that Cea is undeniably photogenic — but what a way to escape, at thirteen. At that point in her life, Cea understood that her childhood had been more neglectful than idyllic — she held a lot of resentment towards her mother, her absent father, and her grandparents — but eventually, decades later, information is shared with Cea that allows her to gain a new understanding of her mother and she arrives at a place of peace; ultimately embracing the challenges that had formed her.This review is just the barest of overviews — some of the details in the book could make your hair stand on end — but I hope it gives the sense that this is a worthwhile read. Cea has an engaging voice, her story is stranger-than-fiction, and having reached her forties before writing of her childhood, she had time to reflect and make sense of her experiences.

I found this memoir well worth reading on several levels. It was well-written, yes. But the emotional tone and the characters were more novel-like than memoirs usually are, and the story engaged me right at the beginning. I found it hard to put down! It was evocative of the age it described, authentic, and forced mental comparisons to lives I've known others to have led in those years, bringing questions and polemics to the surface to be examined that had long been silent or absent, especially about child rearing in an age of permissiveness and the role of parents. Touching on themes of reconciling benefits/detractions of a wilderness with a city lifestyle, the egotism of self-appointed prophets disaffected with society, a child's point of view of an adult world way out of kilter with 'normal' and the longing to discover what 'normal' means, this book captures our sympathy for the young Cea Person and what she lived through... and became as a result.

This was a page-turner. I still can't believe what I just read. What a fabulous memoir. The writing was great, and my emotions ranged from one extreme to another. Such resilience this little girl had, and bit of luck too, as she could have died at the hands of these animals who raised her, no matter how wounded they themselves may have been. I congratulate Ms. Person on her tenacity, and for managing to create a good life for herself in the end.

If you loved The Glass Castle, you best add North of Normal to your reading list. Cea's mom, Michelle, was 16 when she was born, and the whole family decided to go and live in hand-made tee-pees in the wilderness. Her anti-establishment grandfather, Papa Dick, thought the best he could do for his family was to provide them with a pot-smoking, free-loving, clothing-optional lifestyle. For the first five years of Cea's life this suited her just fine, but as she becomes more aware of the fact that some things makes her feel uncomfortable, she starts longing for a more stable, normal life. When Michelle decides to take Cea with her when following one of her many boyfriends, things slowly starts deteriorating even further to a point where there is no-one looking out for her but herself.There were many things I loved about this book - the many laugh out loud moments, but also the deep honesty when writing about some very upsetting situations and feelings. There is a sense of closure as the author shares with us what she had to work through to enable herself to settle down in a normal, happy relationship. The photo's were also a wonderful added element.I highly recommend this funny, upsetting, honest memoir to all my GR friends.

If you need a book to compare Educated to this is the one. Cea Sunrise Person deserves the attention that Tara Westover has received.

What is it that makes a neglected child still raise their arms in hope of being scooped up by a caretaker, even one that has betrayed them? It is this pure, earnest gesture that Cea Sunrise Person has captured in her memoir. The objectivity she conjured as a child gives voice to a sensitive and matter of fact retelling of both a wonderous and terribly raw child hood. This heartbreakingly resilient little girl somehow navigates a life with a frequently neglectful mother, no friends, no filter, and no bedroom to call her own. Lead by her fiercely anti establishment grandfather, her family; a bunch of rag tag wilderness gypsies, make their life off the grid and outside the conventions of society. Cea, endlessly carted along by her mother through harsh winters in the Canadian bush, dead end relationships with ne’er do well men, illegal squats in vacant cabins and never a friend, begins to suspect the life she is living is not normal. In her quest to find her place in the world, this smart child of the wild, uses her rabbit snaring skills in the most unlikely places. Snatched up by the fast paced, often unfriendly, fashion industry, she turns her survival skills into street smarts and becomes what she calls pretty normal, or at least just north of it. This is an incredible and true story. I recommend it whole-heartedly.

Well this was a rather difficult read. There's nothing in the world that stresses me out more than children being abused books. But I read them anyway! Then stress myself out! It makes no sense! This book is even MORE stressful than The Glass Castle.But Cea does manage to pull her life together despite it all and even love her mother but it just makes me so angry that her mother let this stuff happen to her. But she in turn was ALSO molested and raped too! So, it's as depressing, difficult book to get through. Parts of it made me cringe. It was rather raw, but good. But stressful!

I guess that I am very intrigued by true life stories, and especially true life stories of people that come from impossibly tough backgrounds. This one was very well written and very interesting. I want to mention a few more true coming of age stories first: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard by Liz Murray and of course all FDLS books, such as Breaking Free: How I Escaped My Father-Warren Jeffs-Polygamy, and the FLDS Cult by Rachel Jeffs. All of these bring very hard life circumstances, and amazing people coming out of this childhood.North of Normal is the story of Cea. She was born to a 15 years old mother, living with her grandparents and ant. Her grandparents decided years before to live the lives of free people. They lived in an Indian Reserve and did nothing except drugs and sex with everyone that got close to their door. And then Cea lived in such a place, that have no one to care for her in some of the time, even though her mother loved her. “Oh, Cea, just relax. It’s natural for these things to happen to your body. After all, you’re a teenager now.” She smiled at me again and shook her head. “Thirteen. Same age I was when I—”“—lost your virginity and smoked pot for the first time,”And for them it was natural. The grandma for example was constantly high since she was a teenager herself. She found the life problems goes away with pot. And Cea somehow survived things like this: “Are you serious? Mom, you’re offering me pot!”She shrugged. “Yeah, well, you’re drinking alcohol, and that’s no better. I’d rather you did this, at least it’s natural. Why don’t you just try it? Maybe it’ll help you . . . I don’t know. Relax a little.”Later on, she moved with her mom to live with Karl. Leaving the granparent was hard for Cea, who loved them and lived with them all her life. And Papa Dick is the most awkward, self centered perton that could exist:I sniffled and nodded. “But . . . but when will I see you and Grandma Jeanne again?”“I don’t know. Someday, probably. But until then, you need to live as if your grandmother and I never even existed. All right?” Karl himself was overall good, but broke and a burglar. The did live in very bad conditions and places. “It must be terribly difficult for you,” my grandmother said. “Being out in the bush like that, no running water and such. The years there ended and the mom, as usual went to another men, some were really awful.Cea got herself out of all of this and into modeling. She is an extremely beautiful lady. she moved to NYC on her own when she was only 14 or so (and lied about her age, because she always looked older). It is a miracle and also Cea's amazing character that she grew up to be a great person and didn't die or fell to drugs or other awful things. 4 stars. And all the stars for surviving this.

This is a fascinating memoir of the author's childhood with her horribly dysfunctional hippy family...her pot smoking, free loving grandparents, her somewhat simple minded teenage mother, and her mentally unstable aunts and uncle. The family moved from California to western Canada shortly before she was born, and lived through harsh Canadian winters in tipis and tents, squatting on public or native land, and living off the land. That she survived this childhood and has created a normal life for herself is amazing, and a testament to the resilience of children. She writes about her family and her experiences with honesty and a great deal of insight. The story is very well written and flows well, and although at many times disturbing, stops short of being too graphic. I couldn't put it down.

The children of lesser GodThis is an absolutely fascinating story of a young woman who grew up in Canadian wilderness with her grandparents and her mother away from civilization. She was born into a counter-culture family that did not believe in traditional lifestyles. She lived in under a canvas tipi where almost anything could and would happen; drugs, alcohol, sex, nudity and carefree living. This was certainly not normal for the young Cea Sunrise Person who had strong desires for a healthy and normal life with her family. But her mother’s constant search for a true love made her travel all over; they all turned out to be ill-fated adventures. Her mother’s boyfriends had no interest in the young Cea, which deprived her of a fatherly figure in her life. Cea knew little of the world beyond the forest she lived. She spent her summers playing in the meadow and her winters snowshoeing with her grandfather whom she idolized. Despite severe winter storms, food shortages, and drugs-sex-alcohol parties, she still likes to think her little existence was a happy one. The author narrates her story beautifully; fresh in her memory of the scars that was created mainly by her mother that had severe impact on her life. She had a successful modeling career in her teenage years, travelled on her own, worked and attended school and paid her mother’s bills. Despite that her mother knew little about her modelling life in NY, Los Angeles, and Paris during summers between schools. At 15, Cea was in Paris on her own and her mom did not even care and her grandfather whom she remembers fondly never responded to letters or cared to return her calls. Life was not a bed of roses. She had to use cocaine and have sex with a fashion photographer to make it in modeling business; a gypsy boy had snatched her bag from her shoulder leaving her penniless and without a passport; a man in Paris Metro had masturbated on her hair, yet she had to deal all this without her mother. Life was tough, but then again she was better off without her mom. While a successful international modeling career offered her a way out of the wilderness, Cea discovered that this new world was in its own way daunting and full of challenges. On the lesser side of the story, I am a little puzzled about the title of the book, North of Normal. Is she talking about her current life as a happily married woman with three children? The book covers mostly her childhood and her teenage years which are anything but normal. This is a heartwarming story of Cea who ultimately finds happiness that was denied to her in younger days. This is a successful tale of self-discovery in the midst of adversity; she still finds strength and courage to turnaround her life triumphantly. This is a great eye-opener for many unfortunate women who grew up in difficult families. Memoirs like this inspire others to face things in life boldly and courageously.