In the book "Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?", first published in 2011, Jeanette Winterson revisits the story of her childhood in a foster family, which formed the basis for her semi-autobiographical novel "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit" (1985). This time, she places it within a memoir framework. Her early years in an industrial town in northern England, and the challenges of growing up against the expectations of her adoptive parents, devout Pentecostal Christians, are dictated by life itself.

Hope for liberation from her unsettled past comes through her passion for British literature and love for words, which Jeanette Winterson not only carries through the decades but also turns into her craft. Setting out to find her biological mother twenty-five years later, she embraces her past experiences, learns to love, and reconciles with herself.

Jeanette Winterson (born 1959) is a British author known for her vivid and uncompromising language, as well as her unusual and often humorous novels. She is the author of novels such as "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit," "Frankissstein: A Love Story," "The Gap of Time," and others. In 2006, she was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire.