Starting from the question almost every parent has to answer at some point, "Why aren't I normal?", Mooney uses his own experiences to build a framework around "normal" and how it is determined. Studied for hundreds of years, humans have tried to find the norm of canceling from our physical selves to our sex lives. But during that study, many scientists have discovered that their is no one person who can completely match the definition.This definitely reads like a speech that has been adapted into a book. I didn't realize that this was going to be so closely wrapped around Mooney's own experiences and that was a bit jarring for me. I tend toward the nonfiction books written by people who can take a good step back from what they're studying (obviously, autobiographies not included.) There were a half dozen or so studies included in this book but I wish more had been included. If this had been marketed more as a biographical book I may have been on board sooner and enjoyed it more.
Three stars
This book came out August 13th
ARC kindly provided by Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
