Jeanette Winterson - Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

Episode

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

20111031

20111101 (R4)

Why be happy when you could be normal ?' was the parting shot fired at the 16 year old Jeanette as she left the home of her adopted mother, Mrs Winterson. The words echoed through the author's life as she repeatedly sought happiness and love whilst constantly being aware that her early life had included neither.

When she was six weeks old baby Janet became Jeanette and was taken into the home of two Pentecostal Christian parents in the small town of Accrington. The tyranny of her mother's peculiar belief system and her uncompromising rules meant that the young Jeanette grew up being told that the devil had led her parents to the wrong crib. Mrs Winterson banned books from the house but read the Bible aloud every night; she also kept a revolver in the duster drawer and refused to share a bed with her husband. Jeanette was frequently punished for misdemeanours by being locked outside and left to spend the night on the doorstep. Nothing was 'normal' in the household. Jeanette was supposed to grow up and become a missionary in Africa, instead she fell in love with another girl and was subjected to an exorcism.

Elements of the story are familiar to those who read her fictionalised version of this childhood in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985). This memoir exposes some of the harsher truths and more bizarre incongruities. But it is also the story of how in later life, and recent years, the profound sense of loss and absence was catastrophically detonated by the end of a relationship. Struggling to remain intact, still clinging to her passion for language and literature, the author began to rebuild her sense of self and the way she lives her life. Love arrived and so too did a sense of home - and with it the courage to go back into the past and find the person who had always wanted her in those first few weeks of life.

Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother.

Today's episode: Jeanette Winterson recalls her early life with her adopted mother Mrs Winterson whose Pentecostal Christian beliefs dominated the household in sometimes peculiar ways.

Read by Jeanette Winterson

Jeanette Winterson reads from her memoir about the 1985 novel that made her famous.

20111101

20111102 (R4)

Books were banned in the Winterson household when Jeanette Winterson was growing up, but the language of the bible and of Shakespeare still coloured her childhood.

Struggling to remain intact, still clinging to her passion for language and literature, the author began to rebuild her sense of self and the way she lives her life. Love arrived and so too did a sense of home - and with it the courage to go back into the past and find the person who had always wanted her in those first few weeks of life.

Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother.

Read by Jeanette Winterson

Jeanette Winterson recalls how books were banned in her house when growing up.

20111102

20111103 (R4)

It's the mid 1970s and Jeanette Winterson is now a teenager navigating her own feelings and sexuality in the volatile atmosphere of Mrs Winterson's house.

Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother.

Read by Jeanette Winterson

Jeanette is now a teenager - navigating her own feelings and sexuality in the mid 1970s.

20111103

Decades into a successful writing career the author is ambushed by a terrifying emotional and mental crisis, confronting her with the twin pillars of her life - love and loss.

Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother.

Read by Jeanette Winterson

Jeanette is ambushed by a terrifying emotional and mental crisis.

20111104

Decades into a successful writing career the author is ambushed by a terrifying emotional and mental crisis, confronting her with the twin pillars of her life - love and loss.

Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother.

Read by Jeanette Winterson

Jeanette is ambushed by a terrifying emotional and mental crisis.

05 LAST

20111104

20111105 (R4)

Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother.

Read by Jeanette Winterson

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit came out in 1985 when the author was only 25.

Episodes

Episode	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
01	20111031	20111101 (R4)	Why be happy when you could be normal ?' was the parting shot fired at the 16 year old Jeanette as she left the home of her adopted mother, Mrs Winterson. The words echoed through the author's life as she repeatedly sought happiness and love whilst constantly being aware that her early life had included neither. When she was six weeks old baby Janet became Jeanette and was taken into the home of two Pentecostal Christian parents in the small town of Accrington. The tyranny of her mother's peculiar belief system and her uncompromising rules meant that the young Jeanette grew up being told that the devil had led her parents to the wrong crib. Mrs Winterson banned books from the house but read the Bible aloud every night; she also kept a revolver in the duster drawer and refused to share a bed with her husband. Jeanette was frequently punished for misdemeanours by being locked outside and left to spend the night on the doorstep. Nothing was 'normal' in the household. Jeanette was supposed to grow up and become a missionary in Africa, instead she fell in love with another girl and was subjected to an exorcism. Elements of the story are familiar to those who read her fictionalised version of this childhood in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985). This memoir exposes some of the harsher truths and more bizarre incongruities. But it is also the story of how in later life, and recent years, the profound sense of loss and absence was catastrophically detonated by the end of a relationship. Struggling to remain intact, still clinging to her passion for language and literature, the author began to rebuild her sense of self and the way she lives her life. Love arrived and so too did a sense of home - and with it the courage to go back into the past and find the person who had always wanted her in those first few weeks of life. Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother. Today's episode: Jeanette Winterson recalls her early life with her adopted mother Mrs Winterson whose Pentecostal Christian beliefs dominated the household in sometimes peculiar ways. Read by Jeanette Winterson Jeanette Winterson reads from her memoir about the 1985 novel that made her famous.
02	20111101	20111102 (R4)	Books were banned in the Winterson household when Jeanette Winterson was growing up, but the language of the bible and of Shakespeare still coloured her childhood. Elements of the story are familiar to those who read her fictionalised version of this childhood in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985). This memoir exposes some of the harsher truths and more bizarre incongruities. But it is also the story of how in later life, and recent years, the profound sense of loss and absence was catastrophically detonated by the end of a relationship. Struggling to remain intact, still clinging to her passion for language and literature, the author began to rebuild her sense of self and the way she lives her life. Love arrived and so too did a sense of home - and with it the courage to go back into the past and find the person who had always wanted her in those first few weeks of life. Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother. Read by Jeanette Winterson Jeanette Winterson recalls how books were banned in her house when growing up.
03	20111102	20111103 (R4)	It's the mid 1970s and Jeanette Winterson is now a teenager navigating her own feelings and sexuality in the volatile atmosphere of Mrs Winterson's house. Elements of the story are familiar to those who read her fictionalised version of this childhood in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985). This memoir exposes some of the harsher truths and more bizarre incongruities. But it is also the story of how in later life, and recent years, the profound sense of loss and absence was catastrophically detonated by the end of a relationship. Struggling to remain intact, still clinging to her passion for language and literature, the author began to rebuild her sense of self and the way she lives her life. Love arrived and so too did a sense of home - and with it the courage to go back into the past and find the person who had always wanted her in those first few weeks of life. Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother. Read by Jeanette Winterson Jeanette is now a teenager - navigating her own feelings and sexuality in the mid 1970s.
04	20111103		Decades into a successful writing career the author is ambushed by a terrifying emotional and mental crisis, confronting her with the twin pillars of her life - love and loss. Elements of the story are familiar to those who read her fictionalised version of this childhood in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985). This memoir exposes some of the harsher truths and more bizarre incongruities. But it is also the story of how in later life, and recent years, the profound sense of loss and absence was catastrophically detonated by the end of a relationship. Struggling to remain intact, still clinging to her passion for language and literature, the author began to rebuild her sense of self and the way she lives her life. Love arrived and so too did a sense of home - and with it the courage to go back into the past and find the person who had always wanted her in those first few weeks of life. Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother. Read by Jeanette Winterson Jeanette is ambushed by a terrifying emotional and mental crisis.
04	20111104		Decades into a successful writing career the author is ambushed by a terrifying emotional and mental crisis, confronting her with the twin pillars of her life - love and loss. Elements of the story are familiar to those who read her fictionalised version of this childhood in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985). This memoir exposes some of the harsher truths and more bizarre incongruities. But it is also the story of how in later life, and recent years, the profound sense of loss and absence was catastrophically detonated by the end of a relationship. Struggling to remain intact, still clinging to her passion for language and literature, the author began to rebuild her sense of self and the way she lives her life. Love arrived and so too did a sense of home - and with it the courage to go back into the past and find the person who had always wanted her in those first few weeks of life. Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother. Read by Jeanette Winterson Jeanette is ambushed by a terrifying emotional and mental crisis.
05 LAST	20111104	20111105 (R4)	Why be happy when you could be normal ?' was the parting shot fired at the 16 year old Jeanette as she left the home of her adopted mother, Mrs Winterson. The words echoed through the author's life as she repeatedly sought happiness and love whilst constantly being aware that her early life had included neither. When she was six weeks old baby Janet became Jeanette and was taken into the home of two Pentecostal Christian parents in the small town of Accrington. The tyranny of her mother's peculiar belief system and her uncompromising rules meant that the young Jeanette grew up being told that the devil had led her parents to the wrong crib. Mrs Winterson banned books from the house but read the Bible aloud every night; she also kept a revolver in the duster drawer and refused to share a bed with her husband. Jeanette was frequently punished for misdemeanours by being locked outside and left to spend the night on the doorstep. Nothing was 'normal' in the household. Jeanette was supposed to grow up and become a missionary in Africa, instead she fell in love with another girl and was subjected to an exorcism. Elements of the story are familiar to those who read her fictionalised version of this childhood in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985). This memoir exposes some of the harsher truths and more bizarre incongruities. But it is also the story of how in later life, and recent years, the profound sense of loss and absence was catastrophically detonated by the end of a relationship. Struggling to remain intact, still clinging to her passion for language and literature, the author began to rebuild her sense of self and the way she lives her life. Love arrived and so too did a sense of home - and with it the courage to go back into the past and find the person who had always wanted her in those first few weeks of life. Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother. Read by Jeanette Winterson Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit came out in 1985 when the author was only 25.