Borderline by Marie-Sissi Labrèche
Interwoven with childhood memories and the later day repercussions of a childhood never asked for, Borderline by Marie-Sissi Labrèche boldly tells the tale of a young woman battling the symptoms of her past.
mental illness
Still Crying for Help: The Failure of Our Mental Healthcare Services by Sadia Messaili
This is a true story about the suicidal death of a 32-year-old man, Ferid Ferkovic, the son of the author. It is a story told straight from a mother’s heart with nothing but a loyal love for her son and her … Continue reading
Pineapple Express by Evelyn Lau
Pineapple Express is rooted in the mind and its disorders. This collection explores moods, medications and side effects, capturing the flatness of depression while still making the language sing. It also probes the landscape of mid-life in all its manifestations: … Continue reading
The Waiting Hours by Shandi Mitchell
The Waiting Hours, Shandi Mitchell’s suspenseful follow-up to her award-winning debut novel, Under This Unbroken Sky, examines the professional and personal lives of people working in crisis response: Mike is a cop, Kate an ER nurse, and Tamara … Continue reading
Curtis LeBlanc’s Birding In The Glass Age Of Isolation
Curtis LeBlanc’s Birding In The Glass Age of Isolation, mental illness, masculinity, and storytelling are all explored in this worthy follow-up to his first book Little Wild (2018). Like the hunters he writes about, LeBlanc practices patience and careful … Continue reading
Lightness by Fanie Demeule, trans. by Anita Anand
According to one source, 90% of all anorexics are females. They lose a few pounds but are still not satisfied. They become obsessed with reaching the "ideal" weight, but it's a moving target, practically unattainable. Such is the case with the unnamed young woman in Lightness by Quebec author Fanie Demeule, which has been translated into English by Anita Anand.
Good Mothers Don’t by Laura Best
It’s 1960, and Elizabeth has a good life. A husband who takes care of her, two healthy children, a farm in the Forties Settlement. But Elizabeth is slowly coming apart, her reality splintering. She knows she will harm her children, wants to harm her children, wants to be stopped from harming her children. She doesn’t sleep, becomes incoherent. Elizabeth is taken away.
Homeless Memorial by John La Greca
John La Greca writes with blistering honesty and humour of a side of Okanagan culture never seen in tourist brochures. For nearly fifty years, he has been our greatest poet of the streets and for all this time he has lived with a mind given many diagnoses, including schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The Daughter Who Walked Away by Kimia Eslah
A powerful and beautiful debut novel by Kimia Eslah, The Daughter Who Walked Away explores the lives of three Iranian women, across three generations, as they struggle to love and be loved unconditionally.
A Palace in Paradise by Mehri Yalfani
The life of Iranian exiles in Toronto and the rumour that there is a traitorous woman in their midst provides drama and a lot of soul-searching in A Palace in Paradise.
Random Act (A Jack McMorrow Mystery) by Gerry Boyle
Number 12 in the Jack McMorrow Mystery Series, the story involves the mystery and confusion surrounding the seemingly random axe murder of a woman in a big-box store just moments after Jack passes her in the parking lot.
In the Wake by Nicola Davison
In the Wake is a novel that contains a mild, but ever-present strain of suspense and an undertone of distrust amongst its protagonists, which makes for the type of novel that keeps you reading until the final page.
The Clock of Heaven by Dian Day
I believe I may have found a new “favourite” writer in Dian Day. I recently read her new book The Madrigal (clicking the link will take you to another site) and I was very impressed by it. It was an … Continue reading
Perfect World by Ian Colford
(This is a guest review submitted by Naomi MacKinnon of Consumed by Ink.) Naomi often reviews books that I can never get around to reading, and such is the case with Ian Colford’s Perfect World.)
We first meet … Continue reading
mouth human must die by Lee D. Thompson
This 2017 chapbook by New Brunswick author Lee D. Thompson is either the work of a literary genius or a literary madman (not that the two are mutually exclusive). Having a small acquaintance with Mr Thompson impels me to put … Continue reading