Normal Family

Normal Family is a hilarious coming-of-age novel about a precocious boy's four frustrating holidays with his eccentric family. Over the course of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and Independence Day, during the tumultuous 1960s, Henry Pendergast struggles to understand his once-famous author (and now alcoholic) grandfather George, who sobers up just in time to help Henry come to terms with the mystery surrounding his mother's mental illness. Henry perseveres through a landmine of dysfunctional siblings, parents, and stepfamily, all the time searching for a normal family not to be found. In the end, he discovers the hidden truth about his family and suffers a heartbreaking loss in the process. With tender moments surrounded by hilarity, Normal Family is the perfect read for the holidays or any other time when a good laugh is needed.

Don Trowden is the pen name for fiction written by Caleb Mason, who is the author of Normal Family (2012), No One Ran to the Altar (2016), and The Isles of Shoals Remembered (1992). He also contributes a regular blog column to Book Business.