The best Canadian nonfiction of 2023

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

There Is No Blueby Martha Baillie

There Is No Blueis a memoir comprised of three essays about three significant losses Martha Baillie experienced. It's a response to the death of her mother, father and sister along as ruminations on what made them so alive.

Baillie is a Toronto-based author. Her novelThe Incident Reportwas on the 2009 Giller Prize longlistand is being made into a film. Her other books includeSister Language and TheSearch for Heinrich Schlgel.

The Definition of Beautifulby Charlotte Bellows

InThe Definition of Beautiful,Charlotte Bellows writes her own coming-of-age story.Between the ages of 15 and 17,she had to recover from an eating disorder, and explores this journey along with all the consequences it had brought into her life, during a global pandemic.

• 46 works of Canadian nonfiction to read in fall 2023

Bellows is a high school student in Calgary.The Definition of Beautifulis her first book.

An Anthology of Monstersby Cherie Dimaline

Cherie Dimaline explores her life-long experience with anxiety and how the stories we tell ourselves can help us reshape the ways in which we think, cope and survive inAn Anthology of Monsters. She uses examples from her books, her mre and her own life to reveal how to collect and curate stories to elicit difficult and beautiful conversations. She also reflects on how family and community can be a source of strength and a place of refuge.

• Cherie Dimaline shares how working in the world of magic made her a better writer

Dimaline is a bestselling Mtis author best known for her YA novelThe Marrow Thieves.The Marrow Thieves,was named one ofTime magazine's top 100 YA novels of all timeand was championed byJully BlackonCanada Reads2018. Her other books includeVenCo,Red Rooms,The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy,A Gentle HabitandEmpire of Wild.

LISTEN | Cherie Dimaline on the power of magic and fiction:

Q14:02Cherie Dimaline on how working in the world of magic made her a better writer

Cherie Dimaline on her new young adult novel Funeral Songs for Dying Girls, and how she sneaks social commentary into children's books.

Truth Tellingby Michelle Good

Truth Tellingis a collection of seven personal essays that explore a wide range of issues affecting Indigenous people in Canada today, including reconciliation, the rise of Indigenous literature in the 1970s and the impact it has to this day, the emergence of "pretendians" and more.

• Michelle Good invites conversation not confrontation on Indigenous issues in Truth Telling

Good is a Cree writer and retired lawyer, as well as a member of Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan.Five Little Indians, her first book, won the2020 Governor General's Literary Award for fictionandthe 2021 Amazon Canada First Novel Award.It also wonCanada Reads2022, when it was championed by Ojibway fashion journalistChristian Allaire.

LISTEN | Michelle Goodtalks about Truth Telling:

The Next Chapter20:22Michelle Good on Truth Telling

Michelle Good on her essay collection Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada.

Message in a Bottle by Holly Hogan

Message in a Bottleis a story about the central threat to marine life diversity: ocean plastic. In this book, biologist and writer Holly Hogan brings marine creatures to life as she recounts experiences on her 30 years of ocean travel.

• Bird biologist Holly Hogan on life at sea vs. on land

Hogan is an author and wildlife biologist who lives in St. John's.

LISTEN | Holly Hogantalks aboutMessage in a Bottle:

The Next Chapter14:08Holly Hogan on Message in a Bottle

The Newfoundland seabird biologist on her book Message in a Bottle, and the danger that plastic poses to the world's oceans and birds.

Racesby Valerie Jerome

The Jerome family have an historic record in Canadian sports, with the grandfather being the country's first Black Olympianand siblings Harry and Valerie also competing and setting world records in the 1960s. In thebookRaces, Valerie Jerome details those heroic moments for her family and the nation, that came alongside the racism they simultaneously had to face.

• I loved running because where I placed had nothing to do with my colour: Olympian Valerie Jerome

Valerie Jerome is the granddaughter of Canada'sfirst Black OlympianJohn "Army" Howard and a Canadian Olympian herself. She has previouslyrepresented the Green Party of British Columbia and her work in conservation garnered her a 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal and a City of Vancouver Heritage Award.

Doppelgangerby Naomi Klein

InDoppelganger, Naomi Klein explores the concept of Mirror World. This includes the presence of far right movements and how they attempt to appeal to the working class, anti-vaxxers, implications of artificial intelligence in content curation and the additional identities that we create on social media. Through referencing thinkers such as Sigmund Freud and bell hooks, Klein also connects to greater social themes to share how one can break free from the Mirror World.

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Klein is a Montreal-born journalist, bestselling author, political thinker and advocate. She is associate professor in geography at the University of British Columbia, and the author ofThis Changes Everything,The Shock Doctrine,No Logo,No Is Not EnoughandOn Fire.

LISTEN | Naomi Klein on Doppelganger:

The Sunday Magazine27:44Naomi Klein on conspiracy culture and confronting our doppelgangers

Have you ever met your doppelganger? It could be a stranger that people constantly mistake you for, or a celebrity that friends say youre a spitting image of. But for acclaimed author, filmmaker and social activist Naomi Klein, finding her doppelganger turned into a much darker experience. Thats because Klein has been mistaken for noted conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine crusader Naomi Wolf for years. Klein joins Piya Chattopadhyay to explain why she used that experience as a starting point for her book Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, which takes on the complicated, messy and misinformation-filled world of social media where the other Naomi thrives.

Becoming a Matriarchby Helen Knott

Becoming a Matriarchis a memoir that delves into Helen Knott's experience after losing both her mother and grandmother in just over six months. It spans themes of mourning, sobriety through loss, and generational dreaming and explores what it truly means to be a matriarch.

• Helen Knott explores the connection between violence against Indigenous women and violence against the land

Knott is a Dane Zaa, Nehiyaw, Mtisand mixed Euro-descent writer from Prophet River First Nations. She is a 2019 RBC Taylor Prize Emerging author. She is also the author of thememoirIn My Own Moccasins,whichwon the Saskatchewan Book Award for Indigenous Peoples' Publishing.

Superfanby Jen Sookfong Lee

Superfanexplores Jen Sookfong Lee's lifelong love affair with pop culture. Using pop culture as an escape from family tragedy and to fit in with those around her, as Lee grew up she realized that pop culture was not made for the child of Chinese immigrants.Superfanconnects key moments in pop culture with Lee's own stories as an Asian woman, single mother and writer.

• Vancouver's Jen Sookfong Lee explores the powerful impact of popular culture in memoirSuperfan

Jen Sookfong Lee is a Vancouver-born novelist, broadcast personality, a pastCBC Short Story Prizejuror, a formerCanada Readspanellist and a columnist onThe Next Chapter. She is the author of the novelThe Conjoined, the nonfiction bookGentleman of the Shadeand the poetry collectionThe Shadow List.

LISTEN | Jen Sookfong Lee reflects on her love of pop culture:

The Next Chapter13:20Jen Sookfong Lee on Superfan

A replay of part of Shelagh Rogers interview with Jen Sookfong Lee on Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart

My Effin' Lifeby Geddy Lee

My Effin' Lifeis the long-awaited memoir from Rush bassist Geddy Lee.He writes candidly about his childhood, the history of theCanadian band Rush and their success after some struggles early on, as well as intimate stories about his friends and bandmatesAlex Lifeson and Neil Peart.

• Geddy Lee recalls Neil Peart's incredible Rush audition and how he showed up with his drums in garbage bags

Lee is the vocalist, bassist, and keyboard player for the group Rush, with drummer Neil Peart and guitarist Alex Lifeson. Lee was ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the top bassists of all time. Lee is also theauthor of Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass.

LISTEN | Geddy Leeon My Effin' Life:

Q53:59Geddy Lee

Rush frontman and bassist Geddy Lee talks to Tom about his memoir, My Effin Life. He discusses his experience as the son of Holocaust survivors, dropping out of high school, and what he remembers about the late Neil Pearts audition to be the bands drummer.

Unearthingby Kyo Maclear

After Kyo Maclear's father dies, a DNA test shows that she is not biologically related to the father that raised her. Maclear embarks on a journey to unravel the family mystery and uncover the story of her biological father, raising questions about kinship and what it means to be family inUnearthing.

Unearthingwon the 2023 Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction.

• What keeps Kyo Maclear from loitering at the edge of writing

Maclear is an essayist, novelist and children's author. Her books have been translated into 15 languages, won a Governor General's Literary Award and been nominated for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award, among others. Her memoirBirds Art Lifewas a finalist for the 2017 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction andwon the 2018 Trillium Book Award.

LISTEN | Kyo Maclear onUnearthing:

The Next Chapter20:27Kyo Maclear on Unearthing

Shelagh Rogers talks to Kyo Maclear about the author's journey to self discovery in the memoir, Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Families Secrets.

Pageboyby Elliot Page

Elliot Page shares his personal journey from the massive success ofJunoto discovering his queerness and identity as a trans person, while navigating criticism and abuse from some of the most powerful people in Hollywood.Pageboyis filled with behind-the-scenes details and interrogations on sex, love and trauma. It's a story about what it means to free ourselves from the expectations of others and step into our truth with defiance, strength and joy.

• Elliot Page couldn't imagine telling his own story here's why he's sharing it now

Page is an Academy Award-nominated actor, producer and director. He currently stars in the hit TV-seriesThe Umbrella Academy.Pageboyis his first book.

LISTEN | ElliotPageon Pageboy:

Q33:16Elliot Page couldn't imagine telling his own story here's why he's sharing it now

Elliot Page (Juno, Inception, The Umbrella Academy) sits down with Tom to talk about his new memoir, Pageboy, how finally writing his story helped him heal from years of having to hide his true self, and what brings him joy now that hes living openly as a trans man.

On Communityby Casey Plett

Casey Plett writes about the implications of community as a word, an idea and a symbol inthe book-length essayOn Community. Plett usesher firsthand experiences to eventually reach a cumulative definition of community and explore how we form bonds with one another.

• Casey Plett's latest book explores the essence of community and the power of lived experience

Plett is the author ofA Dream of a Woman,Little Fish,A Safe Girl to Love. She is awinner of the Amazon First Novel Award, the Firecracker Award for Fictionand a two-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award. Her work has also been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Plett splits her time between New York City and Windsor, Ont.

LISTEN | Casey Pletton On Community:

The Next Chapter11:29Casey Plett talks about her book On Community

Author Casey Plett talks with Ryan B. Patrick about growing up in a small town in Manitoba before moving to the Pacific Northwest. In her latest book, Casey draws on a range of firsthand experiences as a trans woman to spark a conversation on the larger implications of community as a word, idea and symbol.

Ordinary Notesby Christina Sharpe

Ordinary Notesreflects on questions about Black life in the wake of loss. Christina Sharpe brings together the past and present realities with possible futures to construct a portrait of everyday Black existence. The book touches on language, beauty, memory, art, photography and literature.

Ordinary Noteswon the 2023 Writers' Trust Hilary Weston Prize for nonfiction.

• Christina Sharpe reflects on the complexities of Black life through a new literary form

Sharpe is a writer and professor. She is also the author ofIn the Wake: On Blackness and Being andMonstrous Intimacies: Making Post-Slavery Subjects. Sharpe is the Canada Research Chair in Black Studies in the department of humanities, at York University, in Toronto.

LISTEN | Christina Sharpe speaks to Shelagh Rogers aboutOrdinary Notes:

The Next Chapter18:37Christina Sharpe on Ordinary Notes

Christina Sharpe talks to Shelagh Roger about her book, Ordinary Notes.

Unbrokenby Angela Sterritt

In her memoirUnbroken, Angela Sterritt shares her story from navigating life on the streets to becoming an award-winning journalist. As a teenager, she wrote in her notebook to survive. Now, she reports on cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada, showing how colonialism and racism create a society where Indigenous people are devalued.Unbrokenis a story about courage and strength against all odds.

Unbrokenwas shortlisted for the2023 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize.

• Angela Sterritt's memoir emphasizes the importance of empathy in journalism and storytelling

Sterritt is a journalist, writer and artist. She has previously worked as a host and reporter with CBC Vancouver. Sterritt is a member of the Gitxsan Nation and lives on Swxw7mesh, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh territories in Vancouver.

LISTEN | Angela Sterritton Unbroken:

The Next Chapter21:01Angela Sterritt on Unbroken

The award-winning journalist Angela Sterritt talks to Shelagh Rogers about Unbroken: My Fight for Survival, Hope and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls.

Skid DogsbyEmelia Symington-Fedy

Skid Dogsis a first-hand account of what it was like being an unsupervised and wild girl in a small town in the 1990s. Emelia Symington-Fedy recalls her teenage years after coming home two decades later and following the murder of an 18-year-old girl on the same tracks that she used to hang out at as a kid.

Symington-Fedyis an essayist, storyteller and documentary producer. She is the creator of the blog and radio show that became an audiobook,Trying to Be Good: The Healing Powers of Lying, Cheating, Stealing, and Drugs.Shegrew up in Armstrong, B.C. and currently lives in Shuswap, B.C.

LISTEN | Emelia Symington-FedyonSkid Dogs:

North by Northwest17:30Emelia Symington-Fedy on her memoir "Skid Dogs"

Emelia Symington-Fedy on her new book, Skid Dogs, a fierce and unflinching memoir about growing up in small-town BC in the 1990s. It's a coming-of-age story about intense friendships, and a reckoning of the conflicting expectations placed on teenage girls. NOTE: This conversation touches on the topic of sexual assault.

The Age of Insecurityby Astra Taylor

Writer and filmmaker Astra Taylordelivers the 2023 Massey LecturesinThe Age of Insecurity.Sheexplores the pervasive insecurity in our current reality and how the institutions that promise to make us more secure actually contribute to this feeling. Throughout the book, Taylor argues that embracing this vulnerability is the key to more caring, sustainable notions of security.

• 2023 Massey lecturer Astra Taylor recommends 6 books about insecurity

Taylor is a writer, filmmaker and political organizer who was born in Winnipeg and currently lives in New York. Her other books includeThe People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital AgeandRemake the World: Essays, Reflections, Rebellions.

Landbridgeby Y-Dang Troeung

In her memoirLandbridge: Life in Fragments, Y-Dang Troeungwrote about the transactional relationship host countries have with the refugees they admit. Troeung herself was only one-year-old when she came to Canada from Cambodia fleeing Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime. Thebook also explores the complex ethnic, regional and national identities of family legacies and how they are passed down to the next generation.

Troeung was a researcher, writerand assistant professor of English at the University of British Columbia. Her first book,Refugee Lifeworlds: The Afterlife of the Cold War in Cambodia, explored the enduring impact of war, genocide and displacement. She died of pancreatic cancer at the age of42 in 2022.

Fire Weather: The Making of a Beastby John Vaillant

Fire Weather: The Making of a Beastdelves into the events surroundingthe 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, the multi-billion-dollar disaster that melted vehicles, turned entire neighbourhoods into firebombs and drove 88,000 people from their homes in a single afternoon.

Fire Weatherwas shortlisted for the 2023 Writers' Trust Hilary Weston nonfiction awardand won the Baillie Gifford Prize for nonfiction.

• Canadian John Vaillant wins $85K U.K. nonfiction prize for book about Fort McMurray wildfires

John Vaillant is a Vancouver-based freelance writer, novelist and nonfiction author. His first book,The Golden Spruce,which told the story of a rare tree and the man who cut it down, won the 2005 Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction. Vaillant's second titleThe Tigerwas a contender onCanada Reads2012.

LISTEN | John Vaillant on wildfires:

The Current10:10Intense wildfires here for the rest of our lives: author

This summers record-breaking fire season is just the beginning of a massive reckoning tied to climate change, says John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather. He argues that wildfires have entered a new age of intensity, which we will wrestle with for the rest of our lives.