Soft as Bones - by Chyana Marie Sage (Paperback)

About the Book

"A poetic memoir as intricately woven as a dreamcatcher about overcoming the pain of generational trauma with the power of traditional healing. In her deeply affecting memoir, Soft as Bones, Chyana Marie Sage shares the pain of growing up with her father: a crack dealer who went to prison for molesting her older sister. She details the shame and guilt she carried for years after her family's trauma as she went from one dysfunctional relationship to another, from one illegal drug to another. In revisiting her family's history and weaving in the perspectives of her mother and sisters, Chyana examines the legacy of generational abuse, which began with her father's father, who was forcibly removed from his family by the residential schools and Sixties Scoops programs. Yet hers is also a story of hope, as it was the traditions of her people that saved her life. In candid, incisive, and delicate prose, Chyana braids personal narrative with Cree stories and ceremonies, all as a means of healing one small piece of the mosaic that makes up the dark past of colonialism shared by Indigenous people throughout Turtle Island."--

Book Synopsis

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A poetic memoir as intricately woven as a dreamcatcher about overcoming the pain of generational trauma with the power of traditional healing

In candid, incisive, and delicate prose, Chyana Marie Sage shares the pain of growing up with her father, a crack dealer who went to prison for molesting her older sister. In revisiting her family's history, Chyana examines the legacy of generational abuse, which began with her father's father, who was forcibly removed from his family by the residential schools and Sixties Scoop programs. Yet hers is also a story of hope, as it was the traditions of her people that saved her life, healing one small piece in the mosaic that makes up the dark past of colonialism shared by Indigenous people throughout Turtle Island.

Review Quotes

"Maps the pain of generational trauma -- and the journey to healing." --HuffPost

"Wisely, Sage takes us with her on a path of understanding the legacy she has inherited--before making space for her own future." -- Literary Hub

"Essential reading." -- Winnipeg Free Press

"Tenderly and candidly explores the legacies of Native boarding schools, colonialism, and violence to disrupt intergenerational trauma in search of hope and healing." -- Ms. Magazine

"Gritty yet lyrical ... Soft as Bones is a startling, powerful memoir about surviving family trauma and First Nations perseverance." -- Foreword, STARRED review

"[Sage] toggles effortlessly between the roles of diarist, poet, and journalist, linking her personal history to a pattern of intergenerational violence, all without snuffing out hope for healing. Readers will be as inspired as they are horrified." -- Publisher's Weekly