Shayla Stonechild recommends 5 books that changed her life
The podcaster and wellness advocate will champion A Two-Spirit Journey on Canada Reads 2025
Podcaster and wellness advocate Shayla Stonechild is championing A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby, with Mary Louisa Plummer, on Canada Reads 2025.
A proponent of self-help books rooted in science and stories of Indigenous resilience and perspectives, she is drawn to books that challenge the way she lives her life and open her heart and mind to new ideas.
"I like books that bring light to stuff you wouldn't know otherwise," she said.
Canada Reads 2025 will take place from March 17-20. In the lead up to the debates, Stonechild joined CBC Books to share five books that impacted the way she sees the world.
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Joe Dispenza
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself is a book that talks about the power of being in the present and the power of meditation. In it, Joe Dispenza uses his neuroscience background to explain how you can reprogram your subconscious mind and let go of old patterns and reclaim a new identity.
Stonechild read Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself in her early 20s, a formative time in her life.
"That book set me off into my own meditation practice and also allowed me to let go of old identities and patterns that I no longer needed," she said.
That book set me off into my own meditation practice and also allowed me to let go of old identities and patterns that I no longer needed.- Shayla Stonechild
She also appreciated that Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself bridges the gap between science and spirituality.
"A lot of people will be one way — they'll be all for science or all for spirituality — and to have someone connect them made it feel a little bit more validated."
Sacred Instructions by Sherri Mitchell
In Sacred Instructions, activist and attorney Sherri Mitchell, raised on the Penobscot Indian reservation, draws on Indigenous worldviews to address issues like environmental justice, land rights and intergenerational trauma. She shares wisdom from elders that will help heal our planet and uplift our communities to their full potential.
"She just reiterated a lot of the thoughts that I was having and put it so beautifully together in a book that it inspires you to kind of look at the world in a different way," said Stonechild.
Firewater by Harold R. Johnson
In both his personal and professional life, Cree lawyer Harold R. Johnson witnessed many lives ruined by alcohol. Firewater: How Alcohol Is Killing My People (And Yours) was inspired by the loss of his younger brother to a drunk driver and is a passionate call-to-action to find solutions and help communities make informed decisions about the dangers of alcohol.
"He's not trying to shame anyone, which is good," said Stonechild.
Stonechild also appreciated how Johnson focused specifically on his own Saskatchewan community, bringing together lived experiences, historical information and statistics to open up dialogue on alcohol on Indigenous communities — and the world at large.
"It might be a little bit controversial, but I also think it's something that is a lived reality in our communities. I like books that are controversial in a way that makes you see the other side of something and provides you with new information."
The World We Used to Live In by Vine Deloria Jr.
In The World We Used to Live In, Standing Rock Lakota scholar Vine Deloria Jr. describes stories and rituals from Indigenous people around Turtle Island and shows how they fit into our modern world.
Stonechild was particularly appreciative of how The World We Used to Live In compiles many different scholarly articles and brings them together in one book.
"He speaks of the power that lies in our rituals, in our ceremonies. But he's doing it through an academic lens," said Stonechild.
"It was the last book he wrote before he passed away. So it's kind of his life's work, being a native scholar in terms of spirituality."
The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
"All of us, in a way, are scared to say the wrong thing and we are always wanting to be liked, whether that's on social media or by our family and our friends," said Stonechild.
That's why she was drawn to the book The Courage to Be Disliked, which uses philosophical theories to allow people to determine the course of their own lives, regardless of their own expectations and those of others.
It's important to have the courage to actually be who you are in a society that tells you all to be the same.- Shayla Stonechild
"You're not going to be liked by everyone and so it's important to have the courage to actually be who you are in a society that tells you all to be the same."
Shayla Stonechild's comments have been edited for length and clarity.
