In this riveting memoir, Cheryl (a.k.a. Crystal a.k.a. Harbhajan) recounts her childhood growing up on the run, crisscrossing the globe with her family in order to evade Interpol. Her earliest memories are in the Himalayas at the age of four, when her family were practicing Sikhs. From there, they live in Australia, South Africa, Romania, Israel, Canada, and the U.S.

Apart from globe-trotting & elite athletics (she trains at a high level for both swimming and gymnastics), Diamond’s childhood set the stage for an extremely dysfunctional adolescence thanks to her charming yet intensely controlling father. Not only was the family on the run, they were living by his set of rules and principles that set them even further apart from regular society.

I'm almost 100% sure that Chiara and George killed Frank, and that was such a wrenching moment that really tipped the scales for me on the dysfunction of the family.

When Cheryl finally tries to shed her family’s history and obtain legal citizenship, the depth of her situation comes to light. Having an authentic New Zealand birth certificate proves useless as claiming her citizenship would amount to fraud since her parents signed it with their aliases. She is truly a girl with no base.

Some reviews of this book have said it feels too unbelievable, but I disagree. It’s far-fetched and intense, sure, but it didn’t feel made up. In fact, it hit exactly the way I think the best memoirs do: a place that is stranger-than-fiction and incredibly heartfelt. On top of that, Diamond is an excellent writer, evoking a strong sense of place in each setting as well as offering insightful commentary on her emotional state along the journey.

The concluding chapters verged on sententious, but that’s my only serious qualm with the book. On the whole, I’d recommend it, especially if you liked The Glass Castle or Captain Fantastic. P.S. The audio was superb. Add Eileen Stevens to the list of narrators I’ll enthusiastically follow.