Lost in the Stacks: North of Normal
The marijuana crop flourished and clothing was optional when Cea Person was growing up in the 1970s. In the lonely wilderness of the Kootenay Plains, Alberta, Canada, Cea lived in a tipi with her grandparents, aunts, and mother. Food was whatever could be hunted and gathered; warmth was bearskin blankets, heated rocks, and a rusted barrel converted into a wood stove; hygiene was a pit and bucket of water. Harsh, yes, and sometimes dangerous but little Cea was happy with her Suzy Doll and stick horse, secure in the love of her family.Then came Karl, and Gary, and a host of other unsuitable boyfriends that Cea’s young, pretty, and needy mother Michelle just couldn’t resist. Leaving the tipi, the wilderness, and her family behind (but not her love of pot and nudity), Michelle took Cea and traveled around Alberta and British Columbia, living in a truck or squatting in cottages. Although Cea never doubted her mother’s love, she began to question her mother’s judgment and longed to return to her offbeat life in the bush.
North of Normal is a funny, heartfelt memoir about an unconventional childhood and accepting the mother we have and not the mother we need.
