ReView: Normal Family by Chrysta Bilton

Is there such a thing as a normal family?

Chrysta Bilton's thrilling, compassionate and triumphant memoir Normal Family shows us that family is truly what you make it out to be. 

Chrysta starts the story by introducing us to her mother, teaching us about her through experiences and behaviors, and her strong desire to be a mother which is what drives her to seek out a sperm donor. A fascinating and constant presence in Chrysta's life, she is also one of the most unpredictable; spontaneous with an addictive personality (and a love of women, which was a no-no at the time) as well the desire to give her children a normal childhood. In order to give that normalcy, she asks the sperm donor to be a part of her and their children's lives, which further complicates things. 

All this makes for a tumultuous childhood, one that eventually starts to seep into Chrysta's own behaviors as she grows older.

Chrysta's father, the sperm donor, promises to her mother that she will be the only one he will donate sperm to. Let's just say, he does not follow through on that promise and, as an adult, Chrystal realizes her family is much larger than she ever expected. 

Throughout her life, Chrysta wonders what a normal family looks like and why hers seemed to be more dysfunctional than most. At its tender heart, Normal Family is the story of finding normalcy in the most insane of circumstances.

The most headline-grabbing part of her life, her many siblings, becomes just as interesting as everything else that happened to her. This was just another complicated, beautiful part of her life. At the end of the day, the loving way Chrysta tells her story, shows that relationships and love are what matters and what truly makes a family. 

I was in tears at the end of Normal Family as Chrysta looks back at her complicated life with a loving, tender eye. 

Such a beautifully told story of what it means to be a family.