Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

From the back of the book: In 1985 Jeanette Winterson's first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, was published. It was Jeanette's version of the story of a terraced house in Accrington, an adopted child, and the thwarted giantess Mrs Winterson. It was a cover story, a painful past written over and repainted. It was a story of survival.

This book is that story's the silent twin. It is full of hurt and humour and a fierce love of life. It is about the pursuit of happiness, about lessons in love, the search for a mother and a journey into madness and out again. It is generous, honest and true.

I first came across Jeanette Winterson at university. Her novels are far from conventional but are fantastic to read and great fun to study. I was lucky enough to meet her one time and she was so friendly and phenomenally bright and so when a friend of mine sent through a copy of her autobiography, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, I was really enthusiastic to find out what made the person she is today.

She has been openly gay since she was 16. Quite a brave thing to announce when you have been brought up as a Pentecostal Christian. In fact, Winterson had plans from a young age of being a Pentecostal Christian missionary - news to me! This book is largely, but not solely, about her childhood. It's a refreshingly honest piece of writing and you come out feeling that you have really got to know Jeanette Winterson. Saying that, she does not give you everything -and that's important. She has retained certain things for herself and the book benefits from it. It's not an outpouring of years of bottled-up pain; it's an expression, an exploration and an insight into her life and mind - and what a mind that is.

It's also important to say that this is not a misery memoir - I'm not a massive fan of those. I don't look down on them, but I find no enjoyment from them. Winterson has experienced pain certainly, but she's not without hope. It's positive even at the book's darkest points and she lets you laugh - a lot. You read about someone who is affectionate, funny, passionate, thoughtful and someone who, self-confessedly and realistically, flawed.

I really enjoyed this! 9/10

'Laugh-out-loud funny...proudly, and sometimes painfully, honest. It is also, arguably, the finest and most hopeful memoir to emerge in many years and, as such, it really should not be missed' John Burnside, The Times

'Brave and beautiful, a testament to the forces of intelligence, heart and imagination' Spectator