Hay Festival has today announced its book of the month for April as ’Why be happy when you could be normal?’ by Jeanette Winterson.

’Why be happy when you could be normal?’ is a memoir of Winterson’s which details a time in her life leading up to her being evicted by her adopted parents, age 16, for being in a same-sex relationship.

The title ’Why be happy when you could be normal?’ is a real question asked by her adopted mum, whose religion, coupled with her depression, resulted in her bringing up Winterson in a way which made her childhood a bleak one.

This novel follows on from Winterson’s previous ’Oranges are not the only fruit’, which presents a more uplifting story of her childhood, and acts as a cover story of a painful past which was rewritten.

Winterson’s ’Why be happy when you could be normal’ is described by Hay Festival as the silent twin of her previous novel: " It is full of hurt and humour and a fierce love of life. It is about the pursuit of happiness, about lessons in love, the search for a mother and a journey into madness and out again. It is generous, honest and true."

Chosen by the festival team in Hay on Wye, based on public recommendations, the monthly Book of the Month promotion revisits and re-celebrates great works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry that reach through time to touch the present.

Titles are sold in the UK through the festival’s online shop, as well as being available in all good libraries and bookshops, with a digital festival of promotion supporting online, including curated streams on the festival’s new Hay Player archive.

Find out more about Hay Festival’s Book of the Month at hayfestival.org/book-of-the-month or explore #HayBookOfTheMonth on Twitter.