The best Canadian nonfiction of 2021

Here are the CBC Books picks for the top Canadian nonfiction of the year.

Permanent Astonishmentby Tomson Highway

Permanent Astonishmentis a memoir by acclaimed writer Tomson Highway. Highway was born the 11th of 12 children in a nomadic caribou-hunting Cree family. Surrounded by the love of his family and the vast landscape of his home, he lived an idyllic far-north childhood. But five of his siblings died in childhood, and his parents wanted their two youngest sons, Tomson and Rene, to get big opportunities. This memoir offers insight into the Cree experience of culture, conquest and survival.

Permanent Astonishmentwon the 2021 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

• Tomson Highway's memoir, Permanent Astonishment, is written as 'a symphony to life'

Highway is a Cree novelist, children's author, playwright and musician. Born in Manitoba, he is a member of the Barren Lands First Nation. His work includes Canadian theatre classicsThe Rez SistersandDry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasingandthe novelKiss of the Fur Queen.

52:33Master storyteller Tomson Highway celebrates his parents' beautiful love in Permanent Astonishment

Host Rosanna Deerchild speaks with Tomson Highway, a world-renowned Cree playwright, novelist, and concert pianist, about his new memoir Permanent Astonishment, which just won the 2021 Hilary Weston Writers Trust Prize for Nonfiction worth $60,000.

Care Ofby Ivan Coyote

Care Ofis a collection of moving correspondence Ivan Coyote wrote in the early daysof the COVID-19 lockdown, in response to lettersand communicationsthey had received, some of which dated back to 2009.The correspondenceranges from personal letters to Facebook messages to notes received after performing onstage.

Care Ofwas onthe shortlist for the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction.

• Ivan Coyote's bookCare Ofis a thoughtful collection of pandemic correspondence

Coyote is a writer, storyteller and performer from Yukon. They havewritten more than a dozen books, created four short films and released three albums combining storytelling with music, and are known for exploring gender identity and queer liberation in their writing. Their other books includeTomboy Survival Guide,Rebent Sinner,Gender Failure,One in Every Crowdand the novelBow Grip.Coyote won the 2020 Freedom to Read Award, in recognition of their body of work that examines class, gender identity and social justice.

17:12Ivan Coyote on Care Of

Ivan Coyote talks to Shelagh Rogers about Care Of: Letters, Connections and Cures.

Splexmby Nicola I. Campbell

Splexmis a memoir that tells the story of one Indigenous woman's journey to overcoming adversity and colonial trauma to find strength and resilience through creative works and traditional perspectives of healing, transformation and resurgence. Nicola I. Campbell weaves poetry and prose into what it means to be an intergenerational survivor of residential schools.

• B.C. author hopes to brighten Indigenous narratives

Campbell is the Nekepmx, Syilx and Mtis author of the children's booksShi-shi-etko,Shin-chi's Canoe,Grandpa's GirlsandStand Like a Cedar.Shin-chi's Canoewon the 2009 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and was a finalist for the 2008 Governor General's Literary Award for children's literature illustration.

My Mother's Daughterby Perdita Felicien

Perdita Felicien's mom Catherine was a poor young woman in St. Lucia when she was given a seemingly random, but ultimately life-changing, opportunity: to come to Canada with a wealthy white family and become their nanny. But when she gets to Canada, life is tougher than she expected, as she endures poverty, domestic violence and even homelessness. However, she still encouraged and supported her youngest daughter's athletic dreams. Felicienwould go on to be a world-class hurdler and one of Canada's greatest track athletes.My Mother's Daughteris the story of these two women, and how their love for each other got them through difficult times and changed their lives.

• 'I never talked about it and I am now:' Perdita Felicien on growing up in poverty

Felicien was a 10-time national champion, a two-time Olympian and became the first Canadian woman to win a gold medal at a world championships. She now works as a sports broadcaster and is part ofCBC's team covering the Olympics.My Mother's Daughteris her first book.

Perdita Felicien draws strength from the hurdles her mother faced

4 years ago

Duration 9:12

Perdita Felicien is one of Canadas most decorated female track athletes, but her memoir focuses on the hurdles her mother faced and how that became her inspiration.

Drivenby Marcello Di Cintio

Marcello Di Cintio explores the role of the taxi cab in contemporary culture inDriven.Taxis are both public and private space, andtheirsmalldimensionsmean strangers share an intimate closeness during the duration of atrip.Di Cintiointerviews several taxi drivers from different backgrounds, and attempts to make sense of the role cabsplayin our culture,while also sheddinglight on those who drive them, often silently and anonymously.

• What travel writer Marcello Di Cintio discovered in exploring the inner-lives of Canada's cab drivers

Di Cintio is a writer from Calgary. His other books includeWallsandPay No Heed to the Rockets.Wallswonthe 2013 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. Hisworkcan also be found in the International New York Times, Afarand Canadian Geographic.

12:57Darrel J. McLeod on Peyakow: Reclaiming Cree Dignity

Darrel J. McLeod talks to Shelagh Rogers on Peyakow: Reclaiming Cree Dignity

Nishgaby Jordan Abel

InNishga, Jordan Abel grapples with his identity as a Nisga'a writer, being an intergenerational residential school survivor and his own Indigenous identity while consistently being asked to represent Nisga'a language and culture. Blending memoir, transcriptions and photography,Nishgais an exploration of what it means to be a modern Indigenous person and how both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people engage with the legacy of colonial violence and racism.

Nishgawasa finalist for the2021 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

• Jordan Abel reflects on what it means to be a modern Indigenous person inNishga read an excerpt

Abel is a Nisga'a writer from British Columbia. He is the author of the poetry collectionsThe Place of Scraps,Un/inhabitedandInjun, which won him the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2017.

Tapestry30:51What if the world stopped shopping?

From the Kalahari Desert to an island in Japan, writer J.B. MacKinnon has travelled the world to try and discover what may be inconceivable to many what if, one day, the world stops shopping?

On Foot to CanterburybyKen Haigh

On Foot to Canterburyretraces Ken Haigh's journey through south England, as he follows a traditional pilgrimage route from the medieval era. The journey is in honour of his father, and along the way, he contemplates the role of pilgrimages in modern life, his relationship with religion and spirituality and his relationship with his father. He also engages in the works and lives of several prominent English writers, such as Jane Austen, Jonathan Swift, Charles Dickens and Geoffrey Chaucer.

On Foot to Canterburywas onthe shortlist for the 2021 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

• 'A pilgrimage is a journey with a purpose': Ken Haigh walked the Canterbury Trail in honour of his late father

Haigh is a writer, teacher and librarian currently living in Ontario. He is also the author of the memoirUnder the Holy Lake.

Peyakowby Darrel J. McLeod

Peyakowis a follow-up to Darrel J. McLeod's memoirMamaskatch. The title is the Cree word for"one who walks alone."Peyakowtells the story of his childhood and youth. He was bullied by white classmates, lived in poverty, endured physical and sexual abuse and lost several people he loved. But the story is one of love and triumph, as McLeod goes on to become a teacher, the First Nations'delegate to the UN and an executive in the Canadian government.

• Darrel McLeod's memoir Peyakow is about love, Indigenous education and 'walking alone'

McLeod is a Cree writer from Treaty 8territory in Northern Alberta. Before his retirement, McLeodwas chief negotiator of land claims for the federal government and executive director of education and international affairs with the Assembly of First Nations. His first book was the memoirMamaskatch,whichwon the2018 Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction.

Day 68:55'He is an icon': Writer Waubgeshig Rice reflects on Fred Sasakamoose's legacy for Indigenous hockey players

Tributes have been pouring in for former Chicago Blackhawks player Fred Sasakmoose, one of the first Indigenous athletes to play in the NHL. Sasakamoose died Tuesday after being hospitalized with COVID-19. Waubgeshig Rice spoke with Day 6 about what the hockey legend means to Indigenous players today.

Disorientationby Ian Williams

InDisorientation, Ian Williams captures the impact of racial encounters on racialized people, especially when one's minding their own business. Sometimes, the consequences are only irritating, and other times, they are deadly. Driven by the police killings and street protests of 2020, Williams realized he could offer a Canadian perspective on race. A fewof the subjects he explores includethe moment a child realizes they're Black, the 10characteristics of institutional whiteness and how friendship helps protect against racism and blame culture.

Disorientationwasonthe shortlist for the 2021 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

Williams is a poet, novelist and professor from Brampton, Ont., who is currently teaching at the University of British Columbia. His debut novel,Reproduction, won the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize. He is also the author of the poetry collectionPersonals, which was a finalist for the 2013 Griffin Poetry Prize.

22:23Mark Critch on An Embarrassment of Critch's

Mark Critch talks to Shelagh Rogers about his latest memoir, An Embarrassment of Critch's.

The Day the World Stops ShoppingbyJ.B. MacKinnon

InThe Day the World StopsShopping, environmentalist and writer J.B. MacKinnon asks the question: What would happen if we stopped shopping?MacKinnonexaminesdifferent cultures, from hunter-gatherer societiesto North America's late capitalism, to understand the role resources play in society.He also looksat the impact onshoppingin the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then imagines what it would take to arrive at a shopping-free future.

The Day the World StopsShoppingwas onthe shortlist for the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction.

• 'The planet needs us to consume less': How we can move to a post-consumer society

MacKinnon is a journalist and writer who lives in Vancouver. He is also the author of the nonfiction booksDead Man in Paradise and The Once and Future Worldand is the co-author of the bookThe 100-Mile Diet,which popularized the local food movement.

The Next Chapter14:17Ben Philippe on Charming as a Verb

Ben Philippe on Charming as a Verb His debut YA novel, which features a smart and charismatic teenager of Haitian heritage who has the burning ambition to attend his dream college, Columbia University.

Call Me Indianby Fred Sasakamoose

Fred Sasakamoosewas the first Indigenous hockey player with Treaty status to play in the NHL. He was sent to residential school when he was seven years old, and endured that horror for a decade. But he became an elite hockey player, joining the Chicago Blackhawks in 1954. He only played 12 games in the NHL, but the legacy he left would have a huge impact for decades to come. He became an activist, dedicated to improving the lives of Indigenous people through sport. He shares his story in the memoirCall Me Indian.

• Writer Waubgeshig Rice reflects on Fred Sasakamoose's legacy for Indigenous hockey players

Sasakamoosewasa member of the NHLHall of Fame and the Order of Canada.He died in 2020.

19:36Suzanne Simard on Finding the Mother Tree

Suzanne Simard talks to Shelagh Rogers about her book, Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest.

ReturnbyKamal Al-Solaylee

Kamal Al-Solaylee yearns to return to his homeland of Yemen, now wracked by war, starvation and daily violence, to reconnect with his family. His childhood homes call to him, even though he ran away from them in his youth and found peace and prosperity in Toronto. InReturn, Al-Solaylee interviews people who have returned to their homelands or long to return to them. This book is a chronicle of love and loss, a book for anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to return to their roots.

• Kamal Al-Solaylee on the idea of home, and the desire to return

Al-Solaylee is a professor and author. His other books includeIntolerable: A Memoir of ExtremesandBrown: What Being Brown in the World Today Means (to Everyone).Intolerablewas defended by Kristin Kreuk onCanada Reads2015.Al-Solaylee holds a PhD in English and is the director of the University of British Columbia's school of journalism, writing and media.

The Next Chapter18:32Christa Couture on How to Lose Everything

Singer-songwriter Christa Couture shares the journey of writing her memoir How to Lose Everything.

All the Rage by Brad Fraser

All the Rageis a memoir by Brad Fraserthat doesn't hold back in reflecting on hisimpoverished and abusive childhood. The frank and witty memoir looks at his life's trajectoryfrom living with his teenage parents in motel rooms and shacks inAlberta and Northern British Columbia, experiencing prejudice around his gender identity, and how he got to beknown, both at home and abroad, asacontroversial and acclaimed playwright.

Fraser is an author, TV writer,cultural commentatorandone of Canada's best known playwrights. The Edmonton-born Fraserhas written for magazines and newspapers, including the Globe and Mailand theNational Post, and for three seasons was a TV writer and producer onQueer As Folk.

The Next Chapter1:58The Deep Cove's Leanne Dunic on Vanishing Twins by Leah Dieterich

The Deep Cove frontwoman Leanne Dunic shares why she's fascinated by the nonfiction book Vanishing Twins by Leah Dieterich.

An Embarrassment of Critch'sby Mark Critch

An Embarrassment of Critch'sis the second memoir by Canadian comedian Mark Critch. It follows Critch's journey from Newfoundland to the national stage and back again. From his earliest acting gigs supporting Newfoundland tourism to taking hisshow on the road,Critch revisits some of his career's biggest moments in this memoir.

• Mark Critch recommends 3 great books about Newfoundland

Critch is a Canadian comedian. For 14 years, he has starred on CBC's flagship show,This Hour Has 22 Minutes. He's the host of CBC's Halifax Comedy Festival and has written for and appeared in CBC'sJust for Laughs. He is also the author of the memoirSon of a Critch.

Day 610:21Rinaldo Walcott on defunding police, the fight to abolish slavery & the role of personal property

In the midst of global protests of the killing of George Floyd, Rinaldo Walcott started thinking about the connections between calls to defund police, the fight to abolish slavery and the way personal property figures into all of it. The result is his new book, On Property, which he prefers to think of it as a pamphlet in the tradition of anti-slavery abolitionists.

Impact: Women Writing After Concussion, edited by E.D. Morin & Jane Cawthorne

Impactis a Canadiannonfiction anthology that features 21 women writers examining the lasting effects of concussion in their work and familylives. The book explores the journey of healing, trauma and bearswitness to the empathic and compassionateprocess ofredefining identity and regaining creative practice after a traumatic event.

E. D. Morin is a Calgary author and editor who has beena winner of the Brenda Strathern Writing Prize. Her experience with concussion is documented in an online graphic story on Empathize This. She co-edited the literary anthologyWriting Menopausewith Jane Cawthorne.

Cawthorne is a Toronto writer, editorand feminist activist. Cawthornehas an MFA in creative writing and her literary work centres onwomen on the brink of transformation.

Sure, I'll Be Your Black Friendby Ben Philippe

Sure, I'll Be Your Black Friendis an essay collection from YA writerand journalist Ben Philippe. Philippe, who is the son of Haitian immigrants and grew up in Montreal and Texas, writes about being a lonely child, an awkward teenagerand a Black man coming of age duringthe Obama, then Trump, administrations in the United States. He also delvesinto Black stereotypes and thoughtfully explores his own relationship with his Black identity and his family's history.

• Why Ben Philippe wrote a YA novel about being a black French Canadian kid in Texas

Philippe is a writer of Haitian descent, who was raised in Montreal and is now a teacher at Barnard College in New York. He is also the author of the YA novelsThe Field Guide to the North American TeenagerandCharming as a Verb.CBC Booksnamed Philippea writer to watch in 2019.

20:49Jesse Wente on Unreconciled: Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance

Jesse Wente talks to Shelagh Rogers about his memoir, Unreconciled.

The Bomber Mafiaby Malcolm Gladwell

The Bomber Mafiais an exploration ofthe relationship between technology and ideology and how they come together during times of war. Malcolm Gladwelluses a range ofanecdotes and storiestoexaminehow societal structures shape human behaviour, decision-making andthe spread of ideas.The Bomber Mafialooks at the deadliest night during the Second WorldWar, and how it was caused by the collision of different approaches and beliefs about air bombing. The book buildson themes that Gladwell explored in a 2020episode of his podcast,Revisionist History.

• Why Malcolm Gladwell believes humans are terrible at detecting lies and why we all need to get better at it

Gladwell is a bestselling author, journalist and staff writer at the New Yorker. His books includeThe Tipping Point,Blink,Outliers,What the Dog SawandDavid and Goliath.His previous book,Talking to Strangers,was one of the top 10 bestselling Canadian books of 2019.

The Sunday Magazine24:09Joanna Chiu on the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and what it means for Canada-China relations

Toronto Star journalist Joanna Chiu joins Piya Chattopadhyay to talk about the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, the Meng Wanzhou case and her new book China Unbound: A New World Disorder, which explores how and why the Chinese government operates the way it does, at home and abroad, and what a better approach to understanding China might look like.

Finding the Mother Treeby Suzanne Simard

Biologist Suzanne Simard discovered the reality of the interconnection and intelligence of the forest. She's been able to find out that the trees are indeed whispering to each other communicating not through the wind, but through the soil. Her new scientific memoir,Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest,describes her life and research.

Finding the Mother Treewas thegrand prize winner for the 2021 Banff Mountain Book Competitionand acategory winnerfor the mountain environment and natural history award.

• When the trees talk, we need to listen, Suzanne Simard reveals inFinding the Mother Tree

Simard is a B.C.-based author and academic who grew up in Canadian forests as a descendant of loggers. She is a professor in the department of forest and conservation sciences at the University of British Columbia.

Q39:23Seth Rogen on comedy, his debut book and where cannabis legalization went wrong in Canada

Seth Rogen is known as a comedy titan with a penchant for smoking pot. Now, hes also an author. He joined Tom Power to talk about his debut book, Yearbook, which features a collection of hilarious personal essays about his early life in Canada.

How to Lose Everythingby Christa Couture

Christa Couture has lost a lot over the course of her life: her leg was amputated, her first child died when he was one day old, her second child died as a baby after a heart transplant, her marriage ended in divorce and athyroidectomythreatened her music career. But through it all, she has found hope, joy and love and maintains a perspective filled with compassion and understanding. She shares her journey, and what she's learned along the way, in her memoir,How to Lose Everything.

• Christa Couture: 'I don't just accept my disability I can celebrate it.'

Couture is a writer, musician and broadcaster who is currently based in Toronto. Her work has appeared inCBC ArtsandCBC Parentsand she has been a columnist on CBC Radio'sThe Next Chapter.How to Lose Everythingis her first book.

The Next Chapter9:19TNC columnist Vish Khanna finds a Canadian companion to Tom Scharpling's It Never Ends

If you like Tom Scharpling's It Never Ends: A Memoir with Nice Memories... You'll LOVE this Canadian book.

Neglected No Moreby Andr Picard

AndrPicard is one of Canada's leading health reporters and has been a frequent voice heard during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most heartbreaking stories during the pandemic was the state of Canada's long-term care homes, especially in Ontario and Quebec. InNeglected No More,Picard shows that this crisis has been percolating long before COVID. He demonstrates why these homes got to this place, how we are failing our country's seniors because of it, and what we can dotofix it.

• Lessons learned, forgotten from the 1st wave of the pandemic

Picard isahealth reporter and columnist for theGlobe and Mail. He can frequently be heard on CBC Radio. He has been nominated for theNational Newspaper Awards eight times. His other books about health care includeMatters of Life and Death,The Gift of DeathandCritical Care.

Kaleb Dahlgren, Humboldt crash survivor, opens up in new book 'Crossroads'

4 years ago

Duration 5:37

Humboldt Broncos crash survivor, student athlete and author Kaleb Dahlgren sits down to discuss his new book 'Crossroads' and the next chapter in his life.

One and Half of Youby Leanne Dunic

One and Half of Youis a poetic memoir by artist, musician and writer Leanne Dunic.One and Half of Youexplores Dunic's biracial upbringing on Vancouver Island, her connection to music, her relationship with her brother and how she finds connection and community that helps her understand who she is and who she wants to be.

Dunicis an artist, musician and writer from B.C. She isthe fiction editor at Tahoma Literary Review and is in the bandThe Deep Cove.

The Next Chapter22:08Antonio Michael Downing on Saga Boy: My Life of Blackness and Becoming

Antonio Michael Downing on his memoir, Saga Boy: My Life of Blackness and Becoming.

On Propertyby Rinaldo Walcott

InOn Property,author and academic Rinaldo Walcott examinesthe legacy ofindenturedservitudeandracial slavery and castsan analytical eye on the complex concept of property.The pamphletbook calls for systemic changes and sets forththeargumentthatowning property should beabolished.

• Biblioasis launching Field Notes, a new series of 'short take' books that will respond to current events

Walcott is a professor at the University of Toronto, where he is the director of women and gender studiesandteaches at theOntario Institute for Studies in Education.

13:19Daniel Heath Justice on Raccoon

Daniel Heath Justice talks to Shelagh Rogers about his book, Raccoon.

Out of the Sunby Esi Edugyan

InOut of the Sun, the 2021 Massey Lectures, Esi Edugyan delivers an analysis on the relationship between race and art. She poses questions such as what happens when we begin to consider stories at the margins and grant them centrality? How does doing that complicate our understanding of who we are? Through the lens of visual art, literature, film and the author's lived experience, Out of the Sun examines the depiction of Black histories in art, offering new perspectives to challenge the accepted narrative.

• Esi Edugyan on making history and inspiring a new generation of Black writers

Edugyan is a writer living in Victoria. Her other books includeHalf-Blood Blues,Dreaming of Elsewhere,The Second Life of Samuel TyneandWashington Black. She won the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2011 forHalf-Blood Blues, and again in 2018 forWashington Black.

Over the Boardsby Hayley Wickenheiser

Hayley Wickenheiser is one of the greatest hockey players of all time. She's played at 13 world championships, six Olympics and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Shealso holds multiple university degrees and is a medical doctor, all while raising a child. In the memoirOver the Boards, Wickenheiser shares her story and reflects on what the game gave her.

• Hayley Wickenheiser 'changed the game' on her way to Hockey Hall of Fame

Wickenheiseris one of Canada's greatest hockey players.She's currently the senior director of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs and a medical doctor.

Unreconciledby Jesse Wente

Unreconciledis a memoir from Anishinaabe writer, broadcaster and arts leader Jesse Wente. It weaves together Wente's personal story with a larger exploration of society and culture and examines sports, art, popular culture and more. He explores his family's history, including his grandmother's experience in residential school, and shares his own frequent incidents of racial profiling by police and argues thatthe notion of reconciliation between First Nations and Canada is not a realistic path forward.

• Reframing Indigenous stories in joy: Jesse Wente

Wente is an Anishinaabe writer, broadcaster and arts leader. He's best known for the more than two decades he's spent as a columnist for CBC Radio'sMetro Morning. He has also worked at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2018, he was named the first executive director of the Indigenous Screen Office and in 2020, he was appointed chair of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Once a Bitcoin Minerby Ethan Lou

Journalist Ethan Lou recounts his experiences with Bitcoin inOnce a Bitcoin Miner. He started by investing in bitcoin in university, then wrote for Reuters, then tried his hand at mining the digital asset. He's met the likes of Gerald Cotten, CEO of QuadrigaCX,andaco-founder of Ethereum and hung out in North Korea with Virgil Griffith, the man arrested for teaching blockchain to the totalitarian state. Once a Bitcoin Miner is both a personal story of adventure and fortune, and a deep dive into all things bitcoin.

• Ethan Lou on living through lockdown around the world

Lou is a journalist and writer. He is also the author ofField Notes from a Pandemic: A Journey Through a World Suspended. He is a former Reuters and Toronto Star reporter and writes regularly in publications including the Washington Post, the Guardian and CBC.

China Unboundby Joanna Chiu

As the world's second-largest economy, China is extending its influence across the globe. Joanna Chiu has spent a decade tracking China's rise, from the "New Silk Road" global investment project to a growing sway on foreign countries and multilateral institutions through "United Front" efforts. InChina Unbound, Chiu provides background on the Hong Kong protests, underground churches in Beijing and the exileUygur communities in Turkey and exposes Beijing's high-tech surveillance and aggressive measures that result in human rights violations against those who challenge its power.

Chiuis currently a senior journalist at the Toronto Star. She was previously the bureau chief of the Star Vancouver. Chiu has also reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur, South China Morning Post, The Economist and the Associated Press.

Yearbookby Seth Rogen

Yearbookis a collection of personal essays from actor, writer and director Seth Rogen. The celebrated comedian and weed entrepreneur writes about his early days as a teenage stand up comic in Vancouver, as well as his grandparents, Jewish summer camp and doing drugs.

Rogenis a Canadian actor, producer and screenwriter now based inLos Angeles. In addition to being the executive producer ofThe BoysandInvincible,Rogenstarred inNeighbors, Knocked UpandThis Is the End,and wrote the screenplay forSuperbad.

Begin by Tellingby Meg Remy

Begin by Tellingis a collection of essays from U.S. Girls' Meg Remy. The essays span Remy's life, from a young girl growing up in Illinois to becomingan experimental artist making a name for herself in Canada. Along the way,Begin by Tellingdeals with pivotal moments in American history, weaving together personal stories with reflections on contemporary American and popular culture.

• If you likedIt Never Endsby Tom Scharpling, you'll love Meg Remy'sBegin by Telling

Remy is avisual artist, performer, musician and writer, best known from the pop projectU.S. Girls. She is originally from Illinois, but now lives in Toronto.Begin by Tellingis her first book.

Life in the City of Dirty Waterby Clayton Thomas-Muller

A memoir by Cree activist Clayton Thomas-Muller,Life in the City of Dirty Watercovers his entire life: from playing with toy planes as a way to escape from domestic and sexual abuse and enduring the intergenerational trauma of Canada's residential school system; to becoming a young man who fought against racism and violence, but also spent time in juvenile prison; to becoming a committed activist. Along the way, Clayton remained tied to his Cree heritage and spirituality. This debut is a narrative and vision of healing and responsibility.

• Lack of control over land leaves Indigenous communities exposed to pollution, says activist

Thomas-Muller is a member of the Treaty #6 based Mathias Colomb Cree Nation located in Northern Manitoba. He's campaigned on behalf of Indigenous peoples around the world for more than 20 years, working with numerous organizations.

Richard Wagamese Selected,edited by Drew Hayden Taylor

Richard Wagamese Selectedis a collection of nonfiction works by Richard Wagamese, one of Canada's most celebrated Indigenous authors and storytellers. The book, edited and curated by Drew Hayden Taylor, brings together more of his short writings, many for the first time in print.

• Richard Wagamese on why Canada needs more Indigenous writers

Wagamese, an Ojibweauthorfrom the Wabaseemoong First Nation, was one of Canada's most prominent writers. His novels includedMedicine WalkandIndian Horse. His memoirs includeOne Native LifeandOne Story, One Song.He died in March 2017.

Taylor is an Ojibweplaywright, author and journalist from Curve Lake First Nations in Ontario. He has worked on over 17 documentaries examining Indigenous experiences.His books includeMotorcycle and SweetgrassandTake Us to Your Chief.

Praying to the Westby Omar Mouallem

InPraying to the West, Omar Mouallem explores the unknown history of Islam across the Americas. He travelled to 13 mosques to figure out how the religion has survived and thrived so far from the place of its origin. All over the continent, he met the members of fascinating communities and all of them provide different perspectives on what it means to be Muslim. Mouallem comes to understand that Islam has played a role in how the America's were shaped, from industrialization to politics.

• Wildfire writers: Fort McMurray's forest fire book boom

Mouallem is a writer, journalist and filmmaker living in Edmonton. His writing has appeared in the Guardian, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Maclean's, and Wired. He co-authoredInside the Inferno: A Firefighter's Story of the Brotherhood that Saved Fort McMurray. He also co-directedDigging in the Dirt, a documentary about mental health in the Alberta oil patch. In 2020, he founded the Pandemic University School of Writing.

Crossroadsby Kaleb Dahlgren

OnApril 6, 2018, the news ofa bus crashsent shock waves through Canadaand around the world. TheHumboldt Broncos, ajunior hockey team, weretravellingto an away gamewhen a semi-truck missed a stop signand the bus carrying the team crashed right into it. Sixteen people on board the bus were killed. Kaleb Dahlgren, the assistant captain of the team at the time, was one of the crash's 13 survivors. Heshared his story of recovery, and eventually went on to study and play hockey again at York University. Dahlgren is now sharing his story in a memoir,Crossroads.

• Kaleb Dahlgren, Humboldt crash survivor, shares his message of hope in new memoir

Dahlgren is a student at York University, where he plays on the varsity hockey team.Crossroadsis his first book.

Saga Boyby Antonio Michael Downing

Musician and writer Antonio Michael Downing shares his story in the memoirSaga Boy.Downing was born in Trinidad and raised there by his grandmother until he was 11 years old. He is sent to rural Ontario to live with a strict aunt after his grandmother's death. There, Downing and his brother are the only Black kids in town. Creative and inquisitive, Downing tries to find himself and escape his difficult home life by imagining different personas. But when he hits rock bottomand finds himself in jail, he knows it is time to build a real life for himselfand to embrace his heritage instead of trying to escape it.

• Antonio Michael Downing shares his lifelong search for his Black identity in the memoirSaga Boy

Downingis a musician, writer and activist who now lives in Toronto. He published his first book, the novelMolasses, in 2010. In 2017, he was named one of five writers to participate in theRBC Taylor Prize Emerging Writers Mentorship Program.

Raccoon by Daniel Heath Justice

Raccoon is a nonfiction look at the common raccoon that examines why the animal is thriving in Canadian urban environments and how the raccoon is benefiting from climate change. Raccoonexplores how they have adapted to urban life and how they are seen in some Indigenous cultures as a trickster figure or a transformative figure.

• Daniel Heath Justice on why the raccoon is a significant creature to Indigenous cultures

DanielHeath Justice is acitizen of the Cherokee Nation and a professor of First Nations and Indigenous studies and English at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of BadgerandWhy Indigenous Literatures Matter.