North of Normal: A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood, My Unusual Family, and How I Survived Both in Around the World in 80 Books

Nov 30, 2021 Jim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: family, memoir, biography, non-fiction, canadian-authors, hunting, nature

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I think most people would cringe at the thought of being raised the way Cea Person was brought up. When she was an infant most of her family travelled to the wilderness, uprooted by her charismatic and individualistic grandfather. They lived in tipis off the grid accompanied by an ever-changing cast of men who would stay on from time to time to couple with Cea's mother or one of her aunts. It was a clothing-optional existence, and the children were only partially clad when weather permitted. Whe I think most people would cringe at the thought of being raised the way Cea Person was brought up. When she was an infant most of her family travelled to the wilderness, uprooted by her charismatic and individualistic grandfather. They lived in tipis off the grid accompanied by an ever-changing cast of men who would stay on from time to time to couple with Cea's mother or one of her aunts. It was a clothing-optional existence, and the children were only partially clad when weather permitted. When the clan migrated north to Canada it may be assumed they were clad more frequently than not. Much of their food came from hunting and fishing and Cea grew up to be proficient with gun and bow.

Cea's mother was flat-out negligent, no two ways about it. She would leave the family camp on occasion, lured away by some "love" interest, dragging Cea along with her. They lived a life of theft and subterfuge, growing dope and breaking into dwellings. Sometimes Cea wouldn't be able to tell people where she lived because they were squatting in a residence that they had broken into. Even when she started school she was reluctant to bring friends home for fear her mother would come to meet her schoolmates while stoned and topless. Nudity was a thing with these folks, and Cea saw her grandad's willy far more than most would think healthy. This is the same grandfather who insisted that the pre-teen Cea do her yoga routine while stark staring naked. Worse, I think, would be the memory of her mother fellating her boyfriend in a moving vehicle with the child sitting in full view.

As Cea brings her family to life for us, we come to realize that they are pretty much all a few pickles shy of a barrel, with the probable exception of her biological father. That worthy skipped out early, and one assumes he didn't want to live with her nutjob dope-smoking bare naked mother. Her father seems like a regular guy who sent a monthly check and was the only person she could rely on to support her when starting out on her career. It caused me to wonder how things might have been for Cea if her natural parents had stayed together...would she have turned out to be the successful model and entrepreneur or would she have succumbed to the torpor of normalcy?

One thing Cea's story did for me was to renew my contempt for the counterculture movement. They didn't want to work for a living, but didn't mind squatting on native land and hunting and fishing, presumably without permits. Cea's mother lived with men who grew illegal substances and stole the property of others and, in one case, used her daughter for sexual purposes. They weren't averse to possessing property, but they didn't want to work for it.

In spite of all the foregoing, this is a positive read. Most people would lay out the circumstances and start whingeing, "Oh look. I was abused. I had a bad childhood. I have PTSD, etc., etc. Cea acknowledges that her upbringing was different than most, doesn't deny the neglect and abuse, but still harbors affection for the people in whom she can see the good as well as the bad. I'm a fan. I can see the warrior princess, schooled in the art of the knife and the gun and the bow setting off to conquer the modelling world. If you read the book, and you should, you will be able to meet her family through the glossy photos therein. This one gets a big thumbs-up from me.

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