JUST THINK, I COULD HAVE BEEN NORMAL is Nova Bannatyne’s book about growing up with cerebral palsy (CP) and, in particular, her challenges and triumphs. It begins with Nova’s first memories – of being different from other children in Kimberley, B.C. – and ends with her high school graduation in 1976. Her book is also about how various people helped her along the way.

In the opening chapter, four year old Nova spends a traumatic summer at Children’s Hospital in Vancouver away from her family. Other challenges she faces in the first and ensuing chapters include: coping with teasing and bullying; being misunderstood; fighting prejudice; experiencing convulsions; acting as the test case for a delicate operation; and coping with family discord. She was closest to her second oldest sister, Jeannie, and in a particularly poignant chapter, Jeannie is killed in a car accident. Time after time throughout the story, Nova copes and carries on in spite of the challenges she faces. Furthermore, she experiences many triumphant moments, which include: learning to eat, drink, walk, speak and write independently; leaving a school for mentally disabled children for a regular school; welcoming romance; adopting a dog; dancing; learning to ski; learning to ride a bike; swimming; standing as matron of honour; and working as a playground supervisor.

Nova is the star of this story, however there is a large supporting cast. Her family is instrumental in her development: her father’s, mother’s and three older sisters’ unconditional love fuels her fight to lead a normal life. Other key individuals who champion Nova’s cause are caring friends and teachers, especially Mrs. Ellen Baglot, who fights for Nova’s integration into a regular class.

During the field testing of this manuscript, both listeners and readers did not want Nova’s story to end, asking “But what happened after she graduated from high school?” The Epilogue of JUST THINK, I COULD HAVE BEEN NORMAL addresses this question and demonstrates that if Nova had been born without CP and had been “normal,” she would never have experienced such a remarkable life. For example, Jack Webster, the famous Canadian journalist who helped pioneer the radio talk show genre, interviewed a seemingly unemployable Nova on Vancouver’s CJRO radio in 1977. Subsequently, Webster helped Nova land her first job. They became good friends and a few years later, when Webster moved his talk show to BCTV, Nova was one of his first television guests. In the year 2000, just after Jack Webster’s death, Nova was profiled on BCTV news, which aired a follow-up feature on her, including her connection to him. The BCTV news story also featured Nova’s family and noted she was writing a book, which she hoped to one day have published. JUST THINK, I COULD HAVE BEEN NORMAL is that book.