60 works of Canadian nonfiction to watch for in fall 2022
If you love memoirs, biographies and narrative nonfiction, check out these Canadian books coming out in the second half of 2022.
Modern Fables by Mikka Jacobsen
Mikka Jacobsen's debut book is a comedic look at coming-of-age and finding love in the modern age of social media and the internet. A mix of memoir, feminist theory and literary criticism, Modern Fables exposes narratives about what it means to be a single woman in your 30s.
When you can read it: Sept. 1, 2022
Jacobsen is a writer from Calgary. Her work has appeared in various publications, including Joyland and The Fiddlehead. Modern Fables is her debut book.
Gentrification Is Inevitable and Other Lies by Leslie Kern
In Gentrification Is Inevitable and Other Lies, Leslie Kern travels to Toronto, Vancouver, New York, London and Paris to look at how gentrification is killing our cities and what we can do about it. She examines the often invisible forces that shape urban neighbourhoods, including settler colonialism, racism, sexism, ageism, ableism and how city lovers can work together to turn the tide.
When you can read it: Sept. 6, 2022
Kern is the author of three books about cities: Sex and the Revitalized City: Gender, Condominium Development, and Urban Citizenship, Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World and Gentrification is Inevitable And Other Lies. She is an associate professor of geography and environment and the director of women's and gender studies at Mount Allison University. Kern lives in Sackville, N.B.
Firebrand by Joshua Knelman
Firebrand follows a young lawyer who interviews to work for a company that produces cigarettes at the start of the new millennium. Over the course of the next decade, he helped successfully market cigarettes in a slew of countries. Each chapter illustrates how cigarette companies continued to pivot their strategies and thrive in the 21st century, profiting off the one billion smokers worldwide, despite increasingly intense anti-smoking campaigns and government regulations.
When you can read it: Sept. 6, 2022
Joshua Knelman is a founding member of The Walrus, the recipient of multiple National Magazine Awards and the author of Hot Art, which won the Crime Writers of Canada Award for best nonficiton book and the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction. Knelman lives in Toronto.
The Long Road Home by Debra Thompson
In The Long Road Home, Debra Thompson traces the roots of Black identities in North America and the routes they took across the Canada-U.S. border — the world's longest undefended border — in search of freedom and belonging. She starts in Shrewsbury, Ont., then revisits her four homes in the U.S. and at last, settles in Montreal. The places Thompson visits each reveals something about racism, democracy and the myth of multiculturalism.
When you can read it: Sept. 6, 2022
Thompson is an associate professor of political science at McGill University and one of only five Black women in a political science department in Canada. She's also the author of The Schematic State: Race, Transnationalism, and the Politics of the Census, which received three awards from the American Political Science Association.
Namwayut by Chief Robert Joseph
Namwayut follows Chief Robert Joseph — the hereditary chief of the Gwawaenuk and a globally recognized peacebuilder — as he takes readers on a journey, starting with his childhood surviving residential school to his current role as a leader. Chief Joseph teaches readers about honour and respect for the truth of stories, so they can discover how to dismantle the walls of discrimination, hatred and racism.
When you can read it: Sept. 13, 2022
Joseph is a hereditary chief of the Gwawaenuk People, an ambassador for Reconciliation Canada and the chair of the Native American Leadership Alliance for Peace and Reconciliation. He received the 2016 Indspire Lifetime Achievement Award.
Sideways by Josh O'Kane
Sideways uncovers the investigation into the bigger story behind the 2017 Sidewalks Lab fiasco in Toronto. Told by the Globe and Mail technology reporter Josh O'Kane, Sideways details former New York mayor Dan Doctoroff's bid for a piece of land on Toronto's underdeveloped waterfront. With support from Google CEO Larry Page and his chairman Eric Schmidt, Doctoroff's bid won. But soon, questions emerged about how much the public would gain from this proposed high-tech neighbourhood and what data would be collected.
When you can read it: Sept. 13, 2022
O'Kane is a Toronto writer and reporter with the Globe and Mail. He's the author of Nowhere with You, a deep dive into musician Joel Plaskett's life and career. In 2019, he won Germany's Arthur F. Burns Award for transatlantic political and cultural reporting. He's also received multiple Best in Canada awards from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.
Try Not to Be Strange by Michael Hingston
In Try Not to Be Strange, Michael Hingston tells the story of Redonda, a micronation that was transformed from an uninhabited island into a fantastical and international kingdom of sci-fi novelists, poets, publishers and Nobel Prize nominees. This book — part literary history, part travelogue and part quest narrative — is about what happens when bibliomania engulfs more than just the shelves.
When you can read it: Sept, 13, 2022
Hingston a writer and publisher from Edmonton. He is the author of the books Let's Go Exploring and The Dilettantes. He also co-authored Harnarayan Singh's memoir One Game at a Time. He has been featured in Wired, National Geographic, the Atlantic and the Washington Post. He is a co-founder of Hingston and Olsen Publishing.
The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté
In The Myth of Normal, Gabor Maté examines why chronic illness and general health problems are on the rise in Western countries with good healthcare systems. Maté explains how Western medicine, while technologically advanced, fails to treat the whole person and ignores cultural stressors. With his son Daniel, Maté untangles common myths about what makes us sick and offers a guide on health and healing.
When you can read it: Sept. 13, 2022
Gabor Maté is a doctor and an expert on topics such as addiction, stress and childhood development. He's the author of several books, including In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, When the Body Says and The Cost of Hidden Stress.
Daniel Maté is a composer and lyricist whose musicals include The Longing and the Short of It, Hansel & Gretl & Heidi & Gunter and Middle School Mysteries. He's received the Kleban Prize for Lyrics and the ASCAP Foundation Cole Porter Award.
Touch Anywhere to Begin by Mark Anthony Jarman
Touch Anywhere to Begin is a collection of travel essays by New Brunswick writer Mark Anthony Jarman. Throughout these 18 essays, Jarman finds himself drifting through Venice, at a private club in Shanghai, being invited to the Kala Ghoda Festival in Mumbai or connecting with a pair of Arctic throat singers in Canada.
When you can read it: Sept. 20, 2022
Jarman has written six books of fiction, including 19 Knives and Knife Party at the Hotel Europa, and Ireland's Eye. His writing has been featured in The Walrus, Canadian Geographic and the Globe and Mail. He has won a National Magazine Award in nonfiction for his work.
A Journey of Love and Hope by Elder Sister Dorothy Moore
A Journey of Love and Hope is a collection of talks, presentations, prayers and ceremonies of Mi'kmaw Elder, human rights activist and language and culture warrior, Elder Sister Dorothy Moore. Moore is an educator and a survivor of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School and has spent a lifetime advocating for the rights of her people. In A Journey of Love and Hope, Moore's words are presented in print for the first time and is a valuable resource for use in schools and communities.
When you can read it: Sept. 20, 2022
Elder Sister Dorothy Moore is a Mi'kmaw Elder born in 1933 in Membertou. She's a survivor of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School and has spent her life advocating for equal rights for Indigenous Peoples. She is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the Mi'kmaq language and culture. Moore is the recipient of the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Canada, and holds honorary degrees from Saint Mary's University, Cape Breton University and Mount Saint Vincent University.
Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston
Novelist Wayne Johnston tells the sad, tender and funny story of his childhood in Newfoundland in the memoir Jennie's Boy. At seven years old, Johnston was sick and too skinny. He had insomnia and a cough that wouldn't go away, despite the doctors removing his tonsils, adenoids and appendix in an effort to cure him. Jennie's Boy, named after Johnston's mother, is his tribute to his family and a community that were incredibly protective over him but were tired of making allowances for him.
When you can read it: Sept. 20, 2022
Johnston is a writer from Newfoundland. His novels include The Divine Ryans, A World Elsewhere, The Custodian of Paradise, The Navigator of New York and The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. His 1999 memoir, Baltimore's Mansion, won the RBC Taylor Prize. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and was a 2003 Canada Reads finalist, when it was championed by now prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Battle of the Atlantic by Ted Barris
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous war that Canada participated in. It lasted 2,074 days and took the lives of more than 4,000 people in the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian merchant navy. To mark the 80th anniversary of the longest battle of the Second World War, Battle of the Atlantic tells the story of Canada awakening from the dark winters of the first half of the battle ready to defeat the German U-boats — a Canadian wartime saga for the ages.
When you can read it: Sept. 20, 2022
Military historian and writer Ted Barris has written 20 books, including Juno, Dam Busters and Rush to Danger. Half of his works have focused on Canadians in wartime. His book The Great Escape: A Canadian Story won the 2014 Libris Award for Non-Fiction Book of the Year.
Invisible Boy by Harrison Mooney
Invisible Boy is a memoir by Harrison Mooney that details his adoption into an evangelical white family and navigating zealotry, paranoia and prejudice. Born to a West African mother, he was merely an infant when he was adopted. He grew up as a Black child in a fundamentalist revivalist church and was constantly abused for the colour of his skin. Twenty-five years later, his biological mom told her son the truth: she wanted to keep him. This book examines the controversial practice of transracial adoption.
When you can read it: Sept. 20, 2022
Mooney is a writer and journalist who has worked for nearly a decade at the Vancouver Sun. He was born to a West African mother and adopted as an infant by a white family in British Columbia's Bible belt. He has also been published in the National Post, the Guardian, Yahoo and Macleans. Mooney lives in East Vancouver.
Holden After and Before by Tara McGuire
Holden After and Before is an in-depth reflection on the grief that Tara McGuire experienced as a result of her son's death from an accidental opioid overdose at the age of 21. Beginning with his tragic death. McGuire shares memories, reflections and expressions of love to celebrate her son's life. Exploring themes of mental illness, trauma, creativity, identity and pain, McGuire humanizes an epidemic through her unconditional love for her child.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
McGuire is a writer, voice-over actor and former broadcaster. Her essays and poems appear in various magazines and broadcasts, including The Tyee and CBC Radio's The Sunday's Edition and The Vinyl Cafe. Holden After and Before is her first full-length work.
Is There Bacon in Heaven? by Ali Hassan
In this comedic memoir, Canadian comedian Ali Hassan retells growing up a chameleon. He had friends from multiple different countries and religions but also played hockey and knew Neil Young songs. He could blend in everywhere. But the world — and his Muslim Pakistani family and community — has a funny way of reminding you who you are. In Is There Bacon in Heaven?, Hassan shares his life-long journey to becoming a cultural Muslim, learning to embrace his heritage while still following his passions.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Hassan is a stand-up comedian, artist, host and professional chef who has performed on Canadian and international stages. He is the host of CBC's Canada Reads and Laugh Out Loud on CBC Radio. He's performed at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal and Toronto and his solo show, Muslim, Interrupted was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Hassan lives in Toronto.
The Last Doctor by Jean Marmoreo and Johanna Schneller
The Last Doctor recounts Doctor Jean Marmoreo's year learning and training in Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) after the Supreme Court of Canada gave the practice the green light in 2016. This book introduces a slew of memorable patients who all asked to die on their own terms. Marmoreo also shares her emotional journey learning about MAiD, including her thoughts about pain, loneliness and joy.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Marmoreo is a doctor, writer, advocate, athlete and adventurer. She was one of the first doctors in Canada to become a specialist in end-of-life medicine and provide MAiD in Canada. She was a columnist for the Globe and Mail.
Joanna Schneller is a freelance journalist, specialising in entertainment features. She has been featured in Vanity Fair, InStyle, Premier, More and Ladies Home Journal. She also co-wrote the book Uncontrollable with Mark Towhey and Woman Enough with Kristen Worley.
A Little Bit Broken by Roz Weston
Roz Weston's had a rough life. From getting lost and drunk in New York while interning for the Howard Stern Show to kicking an opioid addiction to dealing with a broken marriage to navigating the grief and guilt following the loss of his father, he's been through it all. A Little Bit Broken is a memoir about self-forgiveness, redemption and recovering from bad choices.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Weston is a radio personality and entertainer. He hosts morning radio show The Roz & Mocha Show, and the TV shows ET Canada Live and Entertainment Tonight Canada. He has won a Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Award, a New York Festival of Radio Award and a Canadian Screen Award. Weston lives in Toronto.
The Future Is Now by Bob McDonald
The Future Is Now explores the incredible modern technologies that humans can use to fix the climate. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the absence of regular human activity helped return the environment to a better state. McDonald shows us how global lockdowns might have helped us realise that a greener future is achievable. This book is a guide to green technology and a new green age.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Bob McDonald is the host of CBC Radio's Quirks & Quarks and a science reporter at CBC. He's also the author of the memoir Measuring the Earth with a Stick, the science books Wonderstruck and Wonderstruck II and the kids book The Earthling's Guide to Outer Space.
Tsqelmucwilc by Celia Haig-Brown
Tsqelmucwilc is the story of those who survived the Kamloops Indian Residential School, based on the 1988 book Resistance and Renewal. Tsqelmucwilc contains the original book, new material from author Celia Haig-Brown, essays by Secwepemc poet and Kamloops Indian Residential School survivor Garry Gottfriedson and Nuu-chah-nulth elder and residential school survivor Randy Fred, as well as first hand accounts by other survivors of the Kamloops Indian Residential School.
When you can read it: Sept 27, 2022
Haig-Brown is an educator and the author of the 1988 book Resistance and Renewal: Surviving the Indian Residential School. Her other books include Taking Control: Power and Contradiction and With Good Intentions: Euro-Canadian and Aboriginal Relations in Colonial Canada. Haig-Brown's documentaries have been shown at the Smithsonian Film Festival and the Irving International Film Festival.
Laughing with the Trickster by Tomson Highway
In Laughing with the Trickster, the 2022 Massey Lectures, Cree novelist and playwright Tomson Highway explores five themes that are central to the human condition: language, creation, sex and gender, humour and death. He also compares Christian, classical and Cree mythologies and reveals their contributions to Western thought, life and culture.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Highway is a Cree novelist, children's author, playwright and musician. Highway's work includes the theatre classics The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing, the novel Kiss of the Fur Queen and children's novels Caribou Song, Dragon Fly Kites and Fox on the Ice. He was recently appointed as an officer of the Order of Canada at the end of 2021 for his contribution to theatre and Canadian culture. His memoir Permanent Astonishment won the 2021 Writers' Trust Hilary Weston Prize and is a finalist for the 2022 Evergreen Award.
Thinking While Black by Daniel McNeil
Thinking While Black examines Armond White and Paul Gilroy, two of the most celebrated and controversial Black thinkers working today by drawing on an eclectic mix of archival research, politics, film theory and pop culture. This book takes readers on a journey through the radical movements that rocked against racism in 1970s Detroit and Birmingham, the 1980s in London and New York and the attention generated by Oscar-winning films like 12 Years a Slave.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Daniel McNeil is a professor of gender studies at Queen's University and is the national scholar chair in Black studies. He's the author of Sex and Race in the Black Atlantic and the co-editor of Migration and Stereotypes in Performance and Culture. McNeil lives in Toronto.
Same Ground by Russell Wangersky
Same Ground is a story about a very long road trip Russell Wangersky embarked on, following in his great-great-grandfather William Castle Dodge's footsteps. In 1849, Dodge crossed the continent searching for gold. The diary he wrote about the journey falls into Wangersky's hands 160 years later. He decides to follow Dodge's trail, not looking for gold, but looking for something even less likely: family. This is a memoir about what time washes away and what we might find if we go looking.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Wangersky is the author of seven books, including Burning Down the House, Whirl Away and The Hour of Bad Decisions. He's currently the editor-in-chief of the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
Nahganne by Red Grossinger
Nahganne: Tales of the Northern Sasquatch is about the giant bipedal hominoid entities that live in the forest in the North. These giants have been seen in many places, but only a few people have shared their stories of coming in contact with these forest giants. This book showcases sightings, strange vocals, discovery of large human-like footprints, strange animal reactions and weird tree events.
When you can read it: Oct. 1, 2022
Red Grossinger is a Huron Métis born and raised in Quebec. He's a decorated military officer, retiring after 30 years of service with the Canadian Army. Through decades of travel through Yukon, he has acquired an abundance of knowledge of the North.
Bronwen Wallace, edited by Wanda Campbell
This collection showcases Bronwen Wallace's unique contribution to Canadian literature and her outstanding work. Bronwen Wallace contains a critical introduction, biography, an interview, essays by Susan Rudy, Brenda Vellino, Mary di Michele and others, and poems by Patrick Lane, Phil Hall, Phyllis Webb and Wallace's son, Jeremy Baxter.
When you can read it: Oct 1, 2022
Wanda Campbell is the author of two works of nonfiction, a novel and five collections of poetry. Her works include Hidden Rooms: Early Canadian Women Poets, Hat Girl, Kalamkari and Cordillera and Daedalus Had a Daughter.
My Road from Damascus by Jamal Saeed
Jamal Saeed sought refuge in Canada in 2016 after being imprisoned three times for a total of 12 years in his native Syria. Imprisoned for his political writing and his opposition to the regimes of the al-Assads, Saeed spent years in Syria's most notorious military prisons. My Road from Damascus tells the story of his life: as a young person finding love, developing critical thought, living in hiding from the police for 30 months, his eventual imprisonment and his family's escape to Canada. He chronicles the sociopolitical landscape in Syria from the 1950s up until his escape to Canada, documenting the harrowing experience but also the beauty of village life, the love of his family and his hope for the future.
When you can read it: Oct 4, 2022
Saeed spent 12 years as a prisoner of conscience in Syria before being invited to Canada in 2016. He continues to raise awareness about Syria's ongoing civil war and humanitarian crisis through his work as an activist, editor, visual artist, and author. He lives in Kingston, Ont.
The Voyageurs by Joshua Kloke
The Canadian national men's soccer team nearly slipped into obscurity. The last time Canada qualified for a men's World Cup was in 1986. Now, soccer is once again a national passion with players like Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David known around the world. How did this happen? Through in-depth interviews with players and coaches, sports journalist Joshua Kloke charts the rise of men's soccer in Canada from near obscurity to super stardom in The Voyageurs.
When you can read it: Oct 1, 2022
Kloke is a sports and music journalist. He previously wrote Come on You Reds and he is currently a staff writer at The Athletic.
Scenes from the Underground by Gabriel Cholette, illustrated by Jacob Pyne, translated by E. S. Taillon
Accompanied by Jacob Pyne's full-colour illustrations, Gabriel Cholette's lyricism leads us through the bathrooms and back rooms of clubs and raves across Montreal, New York and Paris in Scenes from the Underground. Cholette's words read like field notes of the sex, drugs and music that make up queer nightlife.
When you can read it: Oct 4, 2022
Cholette frequents the New York, Berlin, and Montreal underground scenes for literary material. He is also finishing a thesis on the commercial imagination in medieval French literature.
Pyne is an artist from Montreal whose work explores themes of sexual identity, relationships, and anonymous sex from a queer perspective.
E. S. Tallion is a queer, neurodiverse writer, MFA. candidate in the University of British Columbia's creative writing program and the former managing editor at PRISM international magazine.
The Future Is Disabled by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
In The Future Is Disabled, Leah Laksmi Piepzna-Samarasinha writes about the power of disability justice to create a future in which humanity as a whole can survive fascism, climate crisis and pandemics. The book argues that disability justice can liberate us all and examines how disabled people kept and are keeping each other — and the rest of the world — alive during our current collective crises.
When you can read it: Oct 4, 2022
Piepzna-Samarasinha is a queer, disabled, non-binary femme writer, educator and disability and transformative justice worker. They have written or co-edited nine books, including Care Work and Tonguebreaker.
No Bootstraps When You're Barefoot by Wes Hall
Wes Hall's memoir No Bootstraps When You're Barefoot traces his childhood in Jamaica where he was raised by his grandmother and experienced abuse at the hands of his mother to his eventual move to Canada where he eventually went on to become a major entrepreneur and philanthropist. Starting out at a law firm mail room, Hall's resilience paved the way for his life as a business leader while the roadblocks he faced, including racism and discrimination, forged his commitment to justice.
When you can read it: Oct 4, 2022
Hall is a Jamaican-Canadian business leader and business school instructor. His podcast, Between Us with Wes Hall, features conversations on systemic racism with leaders of colour. The founder of the anti-Black racism initiative BlackNorth, he is also one of the investors on the hit TV series Dragons' Den.
Boldly Go by William Shatner with Joshua Brandon
The beloved star of Star Trek, William Shatner reflects on nearly nine decades of exploring the world with a sense of wonder and awe. In heartfelt, often funny essays, Shatner shares the stories of his life and the insights he gleaned along the way.
When you can read it: Oct 4, 2022
Born in Montreal, Shatner is the Canadian author of nine Star Trek novels, including The Ashes of Eden and The Return. He is also the author of several nonfiction books, including Get a Life! and I'm Working on That.
Joshua Brandon is a director, producer, and writer.
On Browsing by Jason Guriel
On Browsing is a bid for a world IRL. In essays written during the pandemic, Jason Guriel makes an argument for browsing bookshelves over scrolling the web to online shop, stream or doomscroll social media. Guriel reflects on what we miss out on through the digitization of culture.
When you can read it: Oct 4, 2022
Guriel is a Toronto-based writer. His books include Forgotten Work and The Pigheaded Soul.
The Life Sentences of Rik McWhinney by Rik McWhinney, edited by Jason Demers
The Life Sentences of Rik McWhinney uses poetry, essays and interviews to explore the daily life and insights of incarcerated people through the eyes and pen of Rik McWhinney who spent 34 years and four month in Canada's federal penitentiaries, sixteen of which were spent in solitary confinement. The memoir is a look at the psychological turmoil embedded in the prison system and a man's journey to advocate for prison reform and rehabilitation over the post-traumatic stress the current incarceration system is set up to inflict on its inhabitants.
When you can read it: Oct 8, 2022
McWhinney was an avid reader and while incarcerated, an "activist inmate," often investing his time advocating for prison justice. He died in 2019.
Jason Demers is an assistant professor at the University of Regina, where he teaches, among other topics, a course on prison writing.
The Longest Suicide by Jason Schneider
The Longest Suicide is a tribute to Art Bergmann, an unheralded Canadian singer-songwriter, who has been dominating stages for half a century, From helping build Vancouver's punk scene with the K-Tels, to his solo work in the 1980s and 1990s, to being named to the Order of Canada, this book chronicles every twist and turn in Bergmann's life.
When you can read it: Oct. 10, 2022
Jason Schneider is the author of Whispering Pines: the Northern Roots of American Music and the novel 3,000 Miles, and is the co-author of Have Not Been The Same: the CanRock Renaissance 1985-1995. He has written for Exclaim!, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Paste and American Songwriter.
Dancing in Small Spaces by Leslie A. Davidson
Dancing in Small Spaces is the story of a marriage. In 2011, Leslie Davidson and her husband Lincoln Ford were finding adventure in their retirement through the outdoors, travelling and preparing to be grandparents. Then, when Lincoln started experiencing confusion and Leslie experienced tremors in her body, a double diagnosis of Lewy body dementia and Parkinson's disease transformed the couple's lives.
In this memoir, Davidson documents the years following the diagnoses, including navigating how to care and be cared for, reckoning with the physical symptoms and community support. In Dancing in Small Spaces, she writes her way through the emotional turmoil, sharing the lessons she learned along the way about herself and the man she loved, in a bid to move toward understanding and acceptance.
When you can read it: Oct 11, 2022
Davidson is the author of two children's books, In the Red Canoe and The Sun is a Shine. Her essay Adaptation won the 2016 CBC Creative Nonfiction Prize. She lives in Revelstoke, B.C.
The Burden of Exile by Aaron Berhane
In Eritrea, one of the most severe dictatorships in the world, Aaron Berhane founded the first independent newspaper. When the paper is shut down, the journalist must flee to avoid arrest, sending him on a journey across the desert, into Sudan and then into secret safe houses in Kenya, before eventually finding sanctuary in Canada. Pursued by the Eritrean secret police and having to leave his young family behind, Berhane is forced to piece his life together in a foreign place. The Burden of Exile is a story of struggle, courage, resilience and the fight for freedom.
When you can read it: Oct 11, 2022
Berhane was a journalist and a co-founder of Eritrea's first independent newspaper. Berhane came to Canada after fleeing Eritrea by way of Sudan. He previously chaired Pen Canada's writers-in-exile group. He died in 2021.
The Power of Story by Harold R. Johnson
The Power of Story reflects on the power of storytelling — from personal narratives to historical sagas — as they relate to humanity and even how humans structure societies. In this posthumous nonfiction work, Harold R. Johnson makes a case for how stories can shape and change our lives for the better if only we are willing to employ story as the world-building tool that it is.
When you can read it: Oct 11, 2022
Johnson, a member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation, was a lawyer and writer whose groundbreaking book Firewater: How Alcohol Is Killing My People (and Yours) was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction. He died in February 2022.
The Save of My Life by Corey Hirsch and Sean Patrick Conboy
By age 22, Corey Hirsch had played in the NHL and won both an Olympic medal and a Stanley Cup. While he realized his dreams in the arena, off the ice Hirsch was plagued by mental health issues, often unable to get out of bed and stop the cycle of dark thoughts. The Save of My Life reflects on Hirsch's journey to a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder and his road to recovery as a professional athlete.
When you can read it: Oct 11, 2022
In 1994, Hirsch won the Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers as well as a silver medal at the Olympics. Born in Medicine Hat and raised in Calgary, he was drafted by the New York Rangers and played for many seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. After retiring from play, Hirsch became an NHL coach and later an analyst with Sportsnet. He also became the national youth ambassador for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and a co-host of The Players' Tribune podcast, Blindsided.
Sean Conboy is the editor-in-chief of the Players' Tribune, and was previously a contributing writer for Wired magazine.
Black & Blue by Stanley Péan, translated by David Homel
In Black and Blue, author and radio personality Stanley Péan retells the history of jazz music. He explains the misunderstandings surrounding the genre, such as how Jean-Paul Sartre mixed up Black Canadian songwriter Shelton Brooks with Jewish American artist Sophie Tucker. Péan also educates readers on the intersection of hip-hop with jazz, the sad ends of various jazz greats and the inclusion of jazz in Hollywood and European cinema.
When you can read it: Oct. 14, 2022
Péan is the author of eight novels and seven short story collections, including Le tumilte de mon sang, Zombi blues and Bizango. He's been the host of Quand le jazz est là on ICI Musique for the last 13 years.
David Homel is a writer and translator based in Montreal. He is the author of eight novels, including Electrical Storms, The Speaking Cure and The Teardown, one memoir, Lunging into the Underbrush and five novels for younger readers with co-writer Marie-Louise Gay. He has also directed documentary films, worked in TV and radio.
Tracking the Caribou Queen by Margaret Macpherson
Tracking the Caribou Queen is a reflection on white privilege, colonialism and systemic racism. Margaret Macpherson examines her privilege as a white woman, where she has perpetuated microaggressions and how her childhood in Yellowknife in the '60s and '70s was shaped, in part, by discrimination against Indigenous peoples. An attempt at reckoning with her own complicity, Macpherson's memoir is an invitation for white readers to examine their own lives and move toward greater accountability.
When you can read it: Oct. 15, 2022
Macpherson is a writer, former reporter and musician. She has written seven books, including Perilous Departures, Body Trade and Released.
Chasing Rivers by Tamar Glouberman
Chasing Rivers takes readers headfirst into the life of female whitewater guide, Tamar Glouberman, who has traversed some of the most difficult rafting rivers in North America, including in the Grand Canyon. At home on the water, Glouberman's love for rafting and paddling brought her community, friendship, romance, increasing self-confidence to overcome challenges and unfortunately, tragedy in the form of a fatal accident for one of her passengers. Navigating her guilt and love for the water, Glouberman's memoir asks deep questions about how to make a meaningful life, the potential for self-sacrifice and self-forgiveness and what it means to chase adventure around every corner.
When you can read it: Oct. 15, 2022
Glouberman is an outdoor guide and a graduate of the Creative Writing MFA program at the University of British Columbia. When she's not off exploring the wilderness, she can often be found in Whistler, Montreal or on Vancouver Island.
Shopomania by Paul Berton
Shopomania is an argument for deprioritizing consumption in a bid to be more conscious about what we buy and where it comes from. Paul Berton stresses that the very innovative thinking that made consumer culture ubiquitous is the same energy that can be applied to creating a new system to replace it. Do we need all these material possessions? And more importantly, what can we gain by reducing their importance?
When you can read it: Oct. 15, 2022
Berton is a journalist and editor-in-chief of The Hamilton Spectator.
The Great Canadian Art Fraud Case by Jon S. Dellandrea
The Great Canadian Art Fraud Case follows Jon S. Dellandrea as he pieces together 50-year-old clues in an attempt to uncover the masterminds behind a string of forgeries in the 1960s, including forgeries of the art of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven.
When, in 2016, Dellandrea gained access to some of the artist William Firth MacGregor's possessions, he found materials documenting a long forgotten trial involving several forgeries. At the time, forged works of famous art were turning up in galleries, auctions and the homes of successful Canadians. In the 1960's, Inspector James Erskine and A.J Casson, the youngest living member of the Group of Seven, attempted to solve the mystery. Now, half a century later, Dellandrea documents his mission to finish the job.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Dellandrea is a Canadian educator, hospital foundation executive, author and former university administrator. Dellandrea is a senior fellow at Massey College, the vice-chair of the board at the Art Canada Institute and the CEO of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Foundation in Toronto since 2012.
Red Zone by Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
In July 2020, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif made headlines when he decided to opt out of the upcoming NFL season due to the global pandemic. A professional football player for the New York Jets and a graduate of medical school, Durvernay-Tardif made the unique decision to step out of the limelight in order to step onto the frontlines where he worked as an orderly in a long-term care facility in Montreal during the pandemic. He shares this story in Red Zone.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Duvernay-Tardif is a football player for the New York Jets. He won a Superbowl in 2020 with the Kansas City Chiefs. He graduated with a medical degree from McGill University in 2018 and then worked as an orderly in a long-term care facility in Montreal during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he received the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award. His scrubs and lab coat are on display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Running Down a Dream by Candy Palmater
Running Down a Dream is Palmater's story about the highs, the lows, the gut instincts and the pitfalls that led her to live a unique, multi-hyphenate life, often exceeding expectations and finding success through self-belief and community support. She described herself as "a queer Mi'kmaw lawyer-turned-comic raised by bikers in rural New Brunswick" and found major success across mediums and careers. After practicing law and landing a government job, Palmater left to pursue comedy and later starred in five successful seasons of her own national TV show, hosted many radio shows, among many other appearances.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Palmater was a band member of Ugpi'ganjig, a Mi'kmaw First Nation in northern New Brunswick formerly called Eel River Bar. Palmater created and hosted The Candy Show on APTN, was a regular co-host on CTV's afternoon talk show The Social and acted in various shows, including Trailer Park Boys. She also hosted The Candy Palmater Show on CBC Radio One and championed The Break by Katherena Vermette on Canada Reads 2017.
Fortune Knox Once by Jack Knox
Similar to his previous humour collections, Fortune Knox Once features Jack Knox's favourite Times Colonist pieces that give a portrait of life in Victoria, and the comedy of everyday life. From phone addiction to the sexiness of the Canadian accent, Knox covers the hilarious, the deep and the weird to give a glimpse into life on the island but also the absurdity we all experience no matter where we live.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Knox is the author of three books. Two of his books, Hard Knox: Musings from the Edge of Canada and Opportunity Knox: Twenty Years of Award-Losing Humour Writing, were both longlisted for the Leacock Medal for Humour.
Big Men Fear Me by Mark Bourrie
Big Men Fear Me chronicles the rise of George McCullagh who was a high-school-dropout-turned-business-tycoon, having bought the Globe and the Mail and Empire and merged them into the Globe and Mail. Given his success, many expected McCullagh to one day serve as Canada's prime minister. So, what happened? Bourrie documents an unknown player in the Canadian newspaper industry.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Bourrie is a Canadian journalist and historian. His books include The Killing Game, Fighting Words, The Fog of War and Bush Runner, which won the 2020 RBC Taylor Prize.
The Things I Came Here With by Chris MacDonald
The Things I Came Here With tells the life story of Chris MacDonald, a man who knows the value of art: it saved him from his own destructive behaviour. An inspiring story of resilience and finding your passion, MacDonald explores the troubled childhood that later led to suicidal thoughts, drugs and destructive behaviour, all before he found the love of a woman and a love for tattooing.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
MacDonald is a tattoo artist and tattoo studio owner in Toronto. He is a songwriter and a guitarist with LeBarons. The Things I Came Here With is his first book.
Letters From Montreal, edited by Madi Haslam
Letters From Montreal chronicles the lives and the experiences of Montrealers past and present, exploring the famous city in a unique and intimate way. Drawn from the celebrated column in Maisonneuve, this anthology features Canadian writers telling tales about the specifics of everyday life in the city.
When you can read it: Oct. 19, 2022
Madi Haslam is a writer and editor based in Montreal. She is currently editor-in-chief of the magazine Maisonneuve.
From Underground Railroad to Rebel Refuge by Brian Martin
Brian Martin's latest book, From Underground Railroad to Rebel Refuge, explores Canada's role in the U.S. Civil War that claimed over 600,000 lives. While the Underground Railroad has been well-documented as a secret route north for those escaping slavery, less is told about the spies, KKK members and draft dodgers who fled to Canada. From Underground Railroad to Rebel Refuge takes a closer look at some of the stories we don't always read about when it comes to understanding Canada's history.
When you can read it: Oct. 25, 2022
Martin is a writer and former journalist. He has written two true crime books, several biographies and baseball histories. He lives in London, Ont.
All Roads Home by Bryan Trottier with Stephen Brunt
All Roads Home is a memoir by seven-time Stanley Cup champion Bryan Trottier. The Saskatchewan-raised Trottier is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. Trottier grew up the son of a Cree/Chippewa Métis father and an Irish Canadian mother and his memoir shares personal stories about his life, family and the lessons learned along the way.
When you can read it: Oct. 25, 2022
Trottier is a former professional hockey player and assistant coach.
Stephen Brunt is a Canadian writer and broadcaster with Rogers Sportsnet and the author of multiple books including Facing Ali, Searching for Bobby Orr and Gretzky's Tears.
Imminent Domains by Alessandra Naccarato
Imminent Domains asks essential questions about our current relationship to nature amidst the climate crisis and what it takes to survive. Arranged by five central elements of survival — earth, fire, water, air and spirit — Alessandra Naccarato uses lyric prose, first-hand observations and research to weave an intriguing meditation on how each of us can come to our own unique answers to our most pressing collective questions.
When you can read it: Oct. 25, 2022
Naccarato is a writer whose debut poetry collection, Re-Origin of Species, features the poem Postcards for my Sister for which she won the 2017 CBC Poetry Prize. She also won the 2015 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers.
Kinauvit? by Norma Dunning
When Dr. Norma Dunning applied to the Nunavut Beneficiary program, seeking to confirm her identity as an Inuk woman, she was asked one question that would set her down a path to understand the history of Canadian bureaucracy. She was asked, "What was your disc number?" This question begged others, leading Dunning to conduct a series of heartfelt interviews with Inuit community members who experienced the Eskimo Identification Tag System. Kinauvit? examines the treatment experienced by the small Indigenous population in Canada at the hands of the Canadian government. Dunning provides a comprehensive look into this dehumanizing practice and shares the voices of those who, under this system, were only ever viewed as a number.
When you can read it: Oct. 29, 2022
Dunning is an Inuk writer who currently lives in Edmonton. She wrote Tainna, which won the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for fiction. She is also the author of the short story collection Annie Muktuk and Other Stories and the poetry collection Eskimo Pie: A Poetics of Inuit Identity. Annie Muktuk and Other Stories won the 2018 Danuta Gleed Literary Award, which recognizes the best debut short story collection of the year.
Ordinary Wonder Tales by Emily Urquhart
Ordinary Wonder Tales is an essay collection is about finding magic in the everyday. Writing about everything from death and dying, pregnancy and prenatal genetics, psychics, chimeras, cottagers and plague, Emily Urquhart carves out the truth from our imaginations, combining her curiosities as a journalist and a folklorist.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Urquhart is a writer and folklorist currently living in Kitchener, Ont. She is also the author of Beyond the Pale and The Age of Creativity.
Playing the Long Game by Christine Sinclair with Stephen Brunt
In collaboration with the Canadian sportswriter Stephen Brunt who has followed her career for years, Olympic soccer gold-medallist Christine Sinclair provides an in-depth look into what led her to become the top international goal scorer of all time and one of Canada's greatest athletes. She tells the stories behind some of her brightest successes and heartbreaking failures. In Playing the Long Game, the Sinclair shares the wisdom gleaned from a career spent changing the game of women's sport.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
An Olympic gold medallist, Sinclair is the long-time forward and captain of Canada's national soccer team and the Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League. Born and raised in Burnaby, B.C., she now lives in Portland, Oregon.
Stephen Brunt is a Canadian writer and broadcaster with Rogers Sportsnet and the author of multiple books including Facing Ali, Searching for Bobby Orr and Gretzky's Tears.
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
Known to the world as Chandler Bing from the beloved sitcom Friends, Matthew Perry reflects on his life, from his childhood in a less-than-perfect family to behind the scenes of the hit sitcom to his struggles with addiction and eventual recovery in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. Now, having found peace in his sobriety, Perry uses humour and heart to share stories about the lessons and people he's come across along the way, including a closer look at the real-life friendships he maintains with his Friends cast mates.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Perry is a Canadian American actor, executive producer and comedian. He is best known for playing Chandler Bing on the hit television sitcom Friends.
What We Give by Terry Salman
In What We Give, Terry Salman chronicles his life in the hopes of providing insight for those looking to build their legacies. Born in Montreal to a Turkish immigrant father and Quebec-born mother, Salman charts his experience in the Vietnam War with the U.S. Marines to his successes in the Canadian business world. These roles led him to philanthropy where he developed a deep commitment to social responsibility.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Born in Montreal, Salman is the president and CEO of Salman Capital, chair emeritus of the Vancouver Public Library Foundation and Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Singapore. A former marine and now a philanthropist, he received the Order of Canada in 2020 and the Public Service Star from the Office of the President of Singapore in 2021.
Cyclettes by Tree Abraham
Interspersed with drawings, maps, diagrams and scientific charts, Cyclettes probes the millennial experience, asking what it means to live a meaningful life, especially amid economic and environmental uncertainty. Both a travelogue and a book of philosophical introspection, the multidisciplinary work asks big questions in a bid to understand our place in the world.
When you can read it: Nov. 10, 2022
Tree Abraham is a book designer, illustrator and writer.
Abolitionist Intimacies by El Jones
In Abolitionist Intimacies, El Jones analyzes the prison abolition movement through the Black feminist principles of care and collectivity. Jones explores how intimacy is controlled and policed in the prison system, such as through prison visits, strip searches and controlling connection to community. Examining these principles in the context of the history of Canadian prisons, settler colonialism and anti-Black racism, Jones argues that intimacy is vital to the movement for justice and liberation in the carceral state.
When you can read it: Nov. 2, 2022
Jones is a poet, journalist, professor and activist from Halifax. She is also a journalism instructor at the University of King's College and the fifth poet laureate of Halifax.
Frequently Asked White Questions by Ajay Parasram and Alex Khasnabish
In Frequently Asked White Questions, doctors Alex Khasnabish and Ajay Parasram answer 10 questions they are often asked by white people trying to understand how race and racial privilege infiltrates everyday life. The authors offer thoughtful, accessible explanations to questions like, "Is it possible to be racist against white people?" or "Shouldn't everyone be treated equally?" This book is a guide for white people who are looking for answers and for racialized people who are tired of answering the same questions.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Khasnabish is a writer, researcher and professor in Halifax. He currently is a professor of sociology and anthropology at Mount Saint Vincent University.
Parasram is professor in Halifax, where he teaches at Dalhouise University.
The Mother of All Degrassi by Linda Schuyler
The co-creator and executive producer of the long-running television series Degrassi, Linda Schuyler shares her personal stories about what it took to make it as a woman entrepreneur in the independent Canadian television industry of the early 1980s in her memoir The Mother of All Degrassi. Through sharing stories, insights and some behind-the-scenes memories from the Degrassi set, Linda reflects on the lessons she learned along the way.
When you can read it: Nov. 15, 2022
Linda Schuyler is the executive producer and co-creator of over 500 episodes of the multi-award-winning Degrassi television franchise. Linda is a member of both the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario. She lives in Toronto.
