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Murder: And Other Essays
By David Richards. 2019
A thrilling, revelatory collection from one of the most provocative and original literary voices in Canada today.David Adams Richards is…
one of Canada's greatest writers, his place in the pantheon ensured by seventeen novels of consistent power and vision. He is also the author of four marvelous non-fiction ruminations on religious faith, hockey, hunting and fishing and their roles in his and the nation's identities. His loyal readers may feel they know him well. But they also know that this is a writer who never fails to surprise. This new collection of essays--his first in a quarter-century--is rich with revelations and insights, deepening our appreciation for this major talent and offering a provoking thought on every page. Murder is one of David's great subjects. In his novels, in the Russian classics he loves and in his life, murder has been a shaping force. The title of this volume refers to a suite of essays on the subject: a hitchhiker with whom David strikes up an unnerving philosophical debate; the killers of the Miramichi and their victims; Caligula; the villains of Russian literature; and, forever in David's mind as he examines this grim topic, the self-deception involved in the allure of evil. But in this wide-ranging collection there is much to delight in too: married love; family; travel; the beauty of the natural world; even Wayne Gretzky is invited to the party. David's principled outlook and spirituality inform his thinking throughout. And he draws many of his favourite writers into the discussion--from Tolstoy to Dostoevsky, Mary Shelley to Alden Nowlan--revelling in their work, as we do in David's, as sources of ideas, inspiration and sheer literary pleasure. As a considerable bonus, the book also contains at its midpoint a literary debut: a slim but substantial collection of David's poetry.The ghost garden: inside the lives of schizophrenia's feared and forgotten /
By Susan Doherty. 2019
For the past ten years, some of the people who cycle in and out of the severely ill wards of…
the Douglas Institute in Montreal, have found a friend in Susan, who volunteers on the ward, and then follows her friends out into the world as they struggle to get through their days. With their full cooperation, she brings us their stories, which challenge the ways we think about people with mental illness on every page. The spine of the book is the life of Caroline Evans (not her real name), a woman in her early sixties whom Susan has known since she was a bright and sunny school girl. Caroline has given Susan complete access to her medical files and her court records; through her, we experience what living with schizophrenia over time is really like. She has been through it all, including the way the justice system treats the severely mentally ill: at one point, she believed that she could save her roommate from the devil by pouring boiling water into her ear ... Susan interleaves Caroline's story with vignettes about her other friends, human stories that reveal their hopes, their circumstances, their personalities, their humanity. She's found that if she can hang in through the first ten to fifteen minutes of every coffee date with someone in the grip of psychosis, then true communication results. Their "madness" is not otherworldly: instead it tells us something about how they're surviving their lives and what they've been through. Winner of the 2019 Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction (QWF). 2019.Two Trees Make a Forest: Travels Among Taiwan's Mountains & Coasts in Search of My Family's Past
By Jessica J. Lee. 2020
An exhilarating, anti-colonial reclamation of nature writing and memoir, rooted in the forests and flatlands of Taiwan, from the winner…
of the RBC Taylor Prize for Emerging Writers. "Two Trees Make a Forest is a finely faceted meditation on memory, love, landscape--and finding a home in language. Its short, shining sections tilt yearningly toward one another; in form as well as content, this is a beautiful book about the distance between people and between places, and the means of their bridging." --Robert Macfarlane, author of Underland. A chance discovery of letters written by her immigrant grandfather leads Jessica J. Lee to her ancestral homeland, Taiwan. There, she seeks his story while growing closer to the land he knew. Lee hikes mountains home to Formosan flamecrests, birds found nowhere else on earth, and swims in a lake of drowned cedars. She bikes flatlands where spoonbills alight by fish farms, and learns about a tree whose fruit can float in the ocean for years, awaiting landfall. Throughout, Lee unearths surprising parallels between the natural and human stories that have shaped her family and their beloved island. Joyously attentive to the natural world, Lee also turns a critical gaze upon colonialist explorers who mapped the land and named plants, relying on and often effacing the labor and knowledge of local communities.Two Trees Make a Forest is a genre-shattering book encompassing history, travel, nature, and memoir, an extraordinary narrative showing how geographical forces are interlaced with our family stories. Winner of the 2020 Roger’s Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. Canada Reads 2021.The Answer Is . . .: Reflections on My Life
By Alex Trebek. 2020
A RECOMMENDED SUMMER READ BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, TIME, AND NEWSWEEK Longtime Jeopardy! host and television icon…
Alex Trebek reflects on his life and career.Since debuting as the host of Jeopardy! in 1984, Alex Trebek has been something like a family member to millions of television viewers, bringing entertainment and education into their homes five nights a week. Last year, he made the stunning announcement that he had been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. What followed was an incredible outpouring of love and kindness. Social media was flooded with messages of support, and the Jeopardy! studio received boxes of cards and letters offering guidance, encouragement, and prayers. For over three decades, Trebek had resisted countless appeals to write a book about his life. Yet he was moved so much by all the goodwill, he felt compelled to finally share his story. “I want people to know a little more about the person they have been cheering on for the past year,” he writes in The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life. The book combines illuminating personal anecdotes with Trebek’s thoughts on a range of topics, including marriage, parenthood, education, success, spirituality, and philanthropy. Trebek also addresses the questions he gets asked most often by Jeopardy! fans, such as what prompted him to shave his signature mustache, his insights on legendary players like Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer, and his opinion of Will Ferrell’s Saturday Night Live impersonation. The book uses a novel structure inspired by Jeopardy!, with each chapter title in the form of a question, and features dozens of never-before-seen photos that candidly capture Trebek over the years. This wise, charming, and inspiring book is further evidence why Trebek has long been considered one of the most beloved and respected figures in entertainment. Bestseller.Chemical World: Science in Our Daily Lives (Orca Footprints #17)
By Rowena Rae. 2020
Chemical World: Science in Our Daily Lives explores some of the materials—all of which are made of basic chemical elements—that…
humans use or come into contact with in their day-to-day lives. Some of these chemicals are naturally occurring—clay, mercury, lead. Others have been synthesized by chemists during the past 150 years and used in a bewildering array of products ranging from roof shingles to toothpaste. Many chemical inventions, as well as naturally produced chemicals, have had profound effects on food supply, developing medicines and creating hosts of useful items for modern life. Despite people using both natural and synthetic chemicals with (mainly) good intentions, some chemicals have had unintended negative consequences. Chemical residues have contaminated ecosystems the world over and are compromising the health of many ecosystems, animals and humans. The goal of Chemical World: Science in our Daily Lives is to introduce readers to basic chemistry and chemical history, and to show how chemicals are used for particular reasons but sometimes turn out to be harmful to environmental and human health. It invites readers to take a look at the world around them and ask questions about what’s in their environment and how the things they use and eat every day can affect their own health and the planet’s health.Ours to Share: Coexisting in a Crowded World (Orca Footprints #16)
By Kari Jones. 2019
There are almost eight billion people alive today. Having that many people in the world puts pressure on both social…
and natural resources, and we have to ask ourselves difficult questions like, What is our fair share? And how do we share more equitably? Ours to Share starts by giving an overview of human population growth, from the time when there were only a few hundred thousand people until now. The book goes on to examine some of the inequities that happen between people when natural and social resources are stressed and provides examples of people who have found innovative ways to share more equitably with their neighbors. The book also examines the impact our expanding population has had on other species. Finally, the book offers suggestions for actions kids can take to better the world from their own home, school and community.Our Environment: Everything You Need to Know
By Shelley Tanaka, Jacques Pasquet, Yves Dumont. 2019
The environment is an essential but sometimes tough and weighty concept to grasp. This engaging nonfiction book takes readers back…
to the basics, offering an accessible overview of what makes up our environment, how those parts work, and why they matter. Divided into five sections—water, air, soil, energy, and climate—the book uses facts, figures, and simple language to give an overarching survey of our environment. Questions run throughout the text, creating a spirit of inquiry. Where does the water we use every day come from? What is the atmosphere? How does pollution affect soil? What is renewable energy? What influences climate? And how do we protect our planet for the future? With an appealing design and simple drawings and diagrams to support comprehension, this book takes a positive spin on the environment, reinforcing the importance of taking care of each element. Informational text features include a table of contents, sidebars, diagrams, and glossary.Fired Up about Consent (Fired up series)
By Sarah Ratchford. 2021
According to the World Health Organization, one in three women will be sexually or physically assaulted in her lifetime. These…
rates are very similar for non-binary people and other feminized people, too. This is rape culture, and young adults are living through it here and now. Fired Up about Consent is a practical, survivor-informed primer for young people who want to learn how to build joyful, mutually satisfying sex lives and relationships. In these pages, author Sarah Ratchford defines rape and sexual assault, busts the myths behind toothless messaging and outdated advice, and provides sex-positive scripts on how to ask for and offer a clear, enthusiastic, and freely given “Yes!” Along the way, Ratchford touches on topics such as #MeToo, gender identity, masturbation, virginity, porn, sex work, reporting assault, and more, all through a radically inclusive and intersectional lens. The message is loud and clear: not only is consent sexy, it’s mandatory—and everyone deserves frank and empowering literacy around it. Only with empathy, compassion, and resistance can we move forward into a new culture of consent.The Imperilled Ocean: Human Stories from a Changing Sea
By Laura Trethewey. 2020
A Globe and Mail Best Book of 2020A Writers' Trust of Canada Best Book of the YearCBC Books: The Best…
Canadian Nonfiction SelectionSilver Medal, Miramichi Reader's "The Very Best!" Book AwardsAn exploration of the earth's last wild frontier, filled with high-stakes stories of people and places facing an uncertain future.On a life raft in the Mediterranean, a teenager from Ghana wonders whether he will reach Europe alive, and whether he will be allowed to stay. In the North Atlantic, a young chef disappears from a cruise ship, leaving a mystery for his friends and family to solve. A water-squatting community battles eviction from a harbour in British Columbia, raising the question of who owns the water.The Imperilled Ocean by Laura Trethewey is a deeply reported work of narrative journalism that follows people as they head out to sea. What they discover holds inspiring and dire implications for the life of the ocean — and for all of us back on land. Battles are fought, fortunes made, lives lost, and the ocean approaches an uncertain future. Behind this human drama, the ocean is growing ever more unstable, threatening to upend life on land.Restigouche: The Long Run of the Wild River
By Philip Lee. 2020
Shortlisted, New Brunswick Book Award for Non-FictionA CBC New Brunswick Book List SelectionAn Atlantic Books Today Must-Have New Brunswick Books…
of 2020 SelectionThe Restigouche River flows through the remote border region between the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick, its magically transparent waters, soaring forest hillsides, and population of Atlantic salmon creating one of the most storied wild spaces on the continent. In Restigouche, writer Philip Lee follows ancient portage routes into the headwaters of the river, travelling by canoe to explore the extraordinary history of the river and the people of the valley. They include the Mi’gmaq, who have lived in the Restigouche valley for thousands of years; the descendants of French Acadian, Irish, and Scottish settlers; and some of the wealthiest people in the world who for more than a century have used the river as an exclusive wilderness retreat.The people of the Restigouche have long been both divided and united by a remarkable river that each day continues to assert itself, despite local and global industrial forces that now threaten its natural systems and the survival of the salmon. In the deep pools and rushing waters of the Restigouche, in this place apart in a rapidly changing natural world, Lee finds a story of hope about how to safeguard wild spaces and why doing so is the most urgent question of our time.Overdose: Heartbreak and Hope in Canada's Opioid Crisis
By Benjamin Perrin. 2020
NATIONAL BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED for the 2021 BC Book Awards' George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in LiteratureSHORTLISTED for the BC and…
Yukon Book Prizes, for both the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize and Jim Deva Prize for Writing That ProvokesSHORTLISTED for the 2021 J. W. Dafoe Book Prize“Overdose is a necessary and searching investigation into a devastating epidemic that should never have happened. Benjamin Perrin painstakingly shows that it need not continue if we, as a society, heed the evidence.”—Gabor Maté M.D., author of In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With AddictionAn astonishing and powerful look at the ongoing opioid crisis North America is in the middle of a health emergency. Life expectancies are declining. Someone is dying every two hours in Canada from illicit drug overdose. Fentanyl has become a looming presence—an opioid more powerful, pervasive, and deadly than any previous street drug. The victims are many—and often not whom we might expect. They include the poor and forgotten but also our neighbours: professionals, students, and parents. Despite the thousands of deaths, these victims have remained largely invisible. But not anymore. Benjamin Perrin, a law and policy expert, shines a light in this darkest of corners—and his findings challenge many assumptions about the crisis. Why do people use drugs despite the risk of overdosing? Can we crack down on the fentanyl supply? Do supervised consumption sites and providing “safe drugs” enable the problem? Which treatments work? Would decriminalizing all drugs help or do further harm? In this urgent and humane look at a devastating epidemic, Perrin draws on behind-the-scenes interviews with those on the frontlines, including undercover police officers, intelligence analysts, border agents, prosecutors, healthcare professionals, Indigenous organizations, activists, and people who use drugs. Not only does he unveil the many complexities of this situation, but he also offers a new way forward—one that may save thousands of lives.In Praise of Retreat: Finding Sanctuary in the Modern World
By Kirsteen MacLeod. 2021
Richard Wagamese Selected: What Comes from Spirit
By Drew Hayden Taylor, Richard Wagamese. 2021
Nibi is water = : Nibi aawon nbiish
By Joanne Robertson. 2020
A board book about the importance of Nibi, which means water in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe), and our role to thank, respect,…
love, and protect it. Written from an Anishinaabe water protector's perspective, the book is in dual language--English and Anishinaabemowin. Babies and toddlers can follow Nibi as it rains and snows, splashes or rows, drips and sipsHaunted Canada 10: More Scary True Stories (Haunted Canada #10)
By Joel A. Sutherland. 2020
The tenth book in the bestselling series of hauntingly true Canadian stories - back, and scarier than ever! Even more…
chilling ghost stories from all across our spooky land. Moody black-and-white illustrations and photographs enhance the hauntingly eerie read. In Victoria, British Columbia, the spirit of a killer haunts Fan Tan Alley. The ghost of a little girl with long dark hair inhabits a hockey arena in Canmore, Alberta. Mysterious knocking at the door of a home in Halifax, Nova Scotia, signals the start of a series of strange happenings. With its first volume published in 2002, the Haunted Canada series is now an award winning ten-book series with over 400,000 copies in print. Kids can't get enough of these spooky tales that allow them to learn about the eeriest corners of our country. "JOEL A. SUTHERLAND IS QUICKLY BECOMING CANADA'S ANSWER TO R.L. STINE." - QUILL & QUIRESky Wolf's Call: The Gift of Indigenous Knowledge
By Eldon Yellowhorn, Kathy Lowinger. 2022
From healing to astronomy to our connection to the natural world, the lessons from Indigenous knowledge inform our learning and…
practices today. How do knowledge systems get passed down over generations? Through the knowledge inherited from their Elders and ancestors, Indigenous Peoples throughout North America have observed, practiced, experimented, and interacted with plants, animals, the sky, and the waters over millennia. Knowledge keepers have shared their wisdom with younger people through oral history, stories, ceremonies, and records that took many forms. In Sky Wolf’s Call, award-winning author team of Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger reveal how Indigenous knowledge comes from centuries of practices, experiences, and ideas gathered by people who have a long history with the natural world. Indigenous knowledge is explored through the use of fire and water, the acquisition of food, the study of astronomy, and healing practices. *A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard SelectionMaking love with the land
By Joshua Whitehead. 2022
"Much-anticipated non-fiction from the author of the Giller-longlisted, GG-shortlisted and Canada Reads-winning novel Jonny Appleseed. In the last few years,…
following the publication of his debut novel Jonny Appleseed, Joshua Whitehead has emerged as one of the most exciting and important new voices on Turtle Island. Now, in this first non-fiction work, Whitehead brilliantly explores Indigeneity, queerness, and the relationships between body, language and land through a variety of genres (essay, memoir, notes, confession). Making Love With the Land is a startling, heartwrenching look at what it means to live as a queer Indigenous person "in the rupture" between identities. In sharp, surprising, unique pieces--a number of which have already won awards--Whitehead illuminates this particular moment, in which both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples are navigating new (and old) ideas about "the land." He asks: What is our relationship and responsibility towards it? And how has the land shaped our ideas, our histories, our very bodies? Here is an intellectually thrilling, emotionally captivating love song--a powerful revelation about the library of stories land and body hold together, waiting to be unearthed and summoned into word."Richard Wagamese selected: What Comes from Spirit
By Richard Wagamese. 2021
Richard Wagamese, one of Canada's most celebrated Indigenous authors and storytellers, was a writer of breathtaking honesty and inspiration. Always…
striving to be a better, stronger person, Wagamese shared his journey through writing, encouraging others to do the same. Following the success of Embers, which has sold almost seventy thousand copies since its release in 2016, this new collection of Wagamese's non-fiction works, with an introduction by Drew Hayden Taylor, brings together more of the prolific author's short writings, many for the first time in print, and celebrates his ability to inspire. Drawing from Wagamese's essays and columns, along with preserved social media and blog posts, this beautifully designed volume is a tribute to Wagamese's literary legacyBeryl: The Making of a Disability Activist
By Dustin Galer. 2023
The story of a mid-century working-class housewife whose extraordinary physical transformation empowered her to become a dynamic social activist who…
fueled a movement to create a more inclusive future for people with disabilities.Beryl: The Making of a Disability Activist
By Dustin Galer. 2023
The story of a mid-century working-class housewife whose extraordinary physical transformation empowered her to become a dynamic social activist who…
fueled a movement to create a more inclusive future for people with disabilities.