A Normal Family: The Surprising Truth About My Crazy Childhood (And How I Discovered 35 New Siblings)

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'I thought my family was complicated until I read Chrysta Bilton's wonderful memoir about the unique collection of irresistible characters in her life. Bilton has a big heart, gentle wisdom, keen eye and lovely wit. She's a gifted writer with an astonishing story to tell.' -David Sheff, author of Beautiful Boy

'By turns hilarious, wrenching, and achingly tender... Bilton writes beautifully, with sharp insight and a light touch, about her harrowing, astonishing journey into understanding her parents, her (very) extended family, and herself.' - Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of On Animals and Rin Tin Tin

For most of her life, Chrysta Bilton was one member of a small, if dysfunctional, family of four. There was her sister, Kaitlyn, her hedonistic, glamorous, gay mum Debra, and Jeffrey, who Debra hand-picked, in an LA hairdressers, to be the father of her children. During Chrysta's unstable childhood, Debra struggled to keep the family afloat and Jeffrey wandered in and out of their lives.

Then, in her twenties, Chrysta discovered that her father had secretly donated his sperm over 500 times - and that she had at least 35 other siblings.

A Normal Family is a captivating coming-of-age memoir about Chrysta's reckoning with the secrets both parents had carefully kept from her. Heartfelt, warm and funny, it's a story of embracing the family we have, in all the forms we find it.

Reviews

Bilton's twisty life story is fascinating, and her eye for detail and ability to plumb her painful past for meaning make this a riveting debut. * PEOPLE magazine *
This beautiful, warm, funny book is a testament to human resilience, forgiveness and humour. It is also a love letter to an extraordinary mother. * The Times *
Is there anything original left to say about surviving a dysfunctional upbringing A Normal Family by Chrysta Bilton takes this question almost as a dare. * BOOKPAGE *
Vulnerable and omniscient * USA TODAY *
Extraordinary * The Guardian *
5* - A jaw-dropping memoir * The Telegraph *
One of the maddest memoirs you'll read this year... a beautiful, warm, funny book. * The Times *

Author Bio

Raised in Los Angeles by an eccentric mother and a father who struggled with mental illness, Chrysta Bilton was in her mid-20s when she found out that her family was much more complicated than she ever could have imagined. She graduated from Barnard College in New York, studied classical drawing and painting at the Florence Academy of Art and currently runs her own public relations firm. Chrysta lives in Los Angeles with her husband, the writer Nick Bilton, their two children, Emerson and Somerset, two dogs and one cat, Pixel, Pine Cone, and Piano. A Normal Family is her first book.