Haven’t seen the movie, but the book tells an absorbing true story. Cea’s family leaves California in 1960s for the rugged wilderness of western Canada. The journey that follows takes her from a childhood spent in the bush to a First Nations reserve west of Calgary and then, after many colorful times with her inveterately contrary family, the runways of Europe as a fashion model.
As a counter-culture family memoir, this story is unique. The wanderers never sought Shangri-la in the mountains of Canada. The goal was simply to escape civilization. Rules were meant to be bent or broken. Mom refused to hop off the hedonism train. Papa Dick wouldn’t stop getting naked at inappropriate times. It’s easy to imagine all this leading somewhere dark. Luckily for the reader, Cea has enough strength of character to bring us to a happy conclusion.