• Nearly Normal

  • Surviving the Wilderness, My Family and Myself
  • By: Cea Sunrise Person
  • Narrated by: Cea Sunrise Person
  • Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (139 ratings)

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Nearly Normal  By  cover art

Nearly Normal

By: Cea Sunrise Person
Narrated by: Cea Sunrise Person
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Publisher's summary

From the author of the best-selling memoir North of Normal comes the harrowing story of a past that won't let go, and one woman's attempt to put her life back together after everything falls apart.

In her best-selling memoir North of Normal, Cea wrote with grace about her unconventional childhood - her early years living in a tipi in Alberta with her pot-smoking, free-loving counterculture family. But her struggles do not end when she leaves her family at the age of 13 to become a model. Honest and daring, Nearly Normal reveals the many ways that Cea's unconventional childhood continues to reverberate through the years.

At the age of 37, Cea has built a life that looks like the normal one she craved as a child - husband, young son, beautiful house, enviable career. But her carefully art-directed world is about to crumble around her. As she confronts the death of her still-young mother, the disintegration of her second marriage and the demise of her business, all within a few months, she finally faces the need to look at her past to make sense of her present.

The Globe and Mail says "Person's best gifts as a writer are her memory, her knack for knowing when to dig down into the finer details of a scene, and when to pull back." Nearly Normal chronicles the many stories Cea left untold but that needed telling. Settled into a new and much happier life after the release of her first book, she is nonetheless compelled to continue searching for answers about her enigmatic family. She discovers the value in the lessons they taught her, and the power of taking responsibility for her own choices.

©2017 Cea Sunrise Person (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Nearly Normal

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  • Overall
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shocking

loved her tenacity. it was for sure a confusing childhood but she was able to provide security for her own children. and I think most of us understand loving someone in our family who's not a good influence. still what an incredible story.

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Wow

So much I can relate to in this book! At the same time, I realize there’s so much more that could have happened to me.

Cea is a brave and strong soul, who brings light to darkness. I really get the sentence about having a God awful mother, yet missing her too!
Thank you Cea, for sharing not only your survival of your childhood, but like myself, you truly rose above it!
God Bless You!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

I enjoyed the first book - couldn’t finish this one

I think it might always be a mistake to have an author narrate their own book. They’re not performers and it generally shows. This is no exception. Ms Person’s habit of elongating the final word of each sentence became annoying and hard to listen to.
Ultimately this story was just too much “navel gazing” for me. I certainly applaud the author’s incredible resilience and recognize the validity of her anger (who wouldn’t!?), but it wasn’t a story I found interesting enough to continue reading. I certainly wish her the best but this is a story best told to a therapist. Which, given what she has been through, the author deserves to have!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Perfect.

Amazing story. Written with heart. Cea is my new best friend and I miss her.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Very. Normal

Love. the. story. Sadly. its. all. true . How. an. abused child. grows. up. and. makes. it. to. a. normal. life.. Crazy. Mother. insane. relatives. in. spite. of. it. al. Cea. makes. a. mark. in. this. world. and. makes. peace with. the. past.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding

Kept me engaged and this was a memoir that really did feel real life. I can’t wait to see the movie.

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Another amazing story

Cea is an amazing author and narrator. Her story will move you, bring tears flowing, make you smile, laugh and fill with anxiety. Her story kept us listening and my husband saying are you gonna put the book on. She is absolute amazing writer!!! Thank you for writing your story. We have listened to both of your stories and do hope you can will write more....

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1 person found this helpful

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excellent writing

I love how the author, CIA Sunshine Person reads her own story as written and doesn't try to make men voices different than her own. It's like reading it myself. Excellent Read.

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Beautifully Shared Story

I can't even describe how glad I am that Cea finished her story with this book. When I finished the first book I genuinely wondered what had happened in the rest of Cea's life. She did a beautiful job of bringing me to her present, and also told many, many more details from her past that I had not heard before. It goes deeper into her soul and her experiences. She is so courageous and is a real life example of the power we have to conquer our pasts and fears. 💗💗💗

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

This one is just not for me

I was eager to listen to this one, was hoping I would really like it as a follow up from the first, but found I could not get into it. 5 chapters in, I had to quit. A lot of "repeat" info from the first book and for some reason this story just didn't keep me engaged as well as the first.

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2 people found this helpful