This should be essential reading for everyone. In this novel, Michelle Good examines various Indigenous issues in smaller pieces through essays and from her own experiences. This is a great introduction to anyone wanting to learn more about Indigenous experiences with colonialism, broken treaties, and some of Michelle’s own experiences. It’s a short book that is quite accessible for anyone wanting to learn more about Indigenous issues in Canada.

History.................Good history...........Learning
Very well written!! Honest truth telling of Indigenous treatment in Canada...Hardhitting!!
Michelle Good is a writer of Cree ancestry and a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan

“We are all standing on the shoulders of the Indigenous women and men who broke down the doors and made room for these necessary works.”

Michelle Good’s most recent book Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada continues sustained efforts by Indigenous Peoples in this country to bring about change through the sharing of knowledge and experience. In her essays exploring such topics as residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, land rights, the White Paper and the Red Paper response, and ‘Pretendians’, Good establishes a clear through-line of colonialism and its impacts, both historical and contemporary. 

“Racism Carefully Sown,” effectively elucidates the realities for Indigenous women, establishing the historical context of diminishment, categorical racism and misogyny built into the colonial structures that accompanied the fur trade and the treatment that was often applied by Indian Agents trafficking or abusing young girls, with the authority given to them under the Indian Act. When we look at the current situation of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People, Good shows the longstanding effects of the degradation of the image and value of Indigenous women and how mistreatment, misogyny and indifference have not only continued but proliferated into the twenty-first century.

“$13.69,” Good’s essay on the Sixties Scoop relates her own experiences both as a survivor and as a recipient of compensation awarded to survivors. She does the math, breaking down the price of abuse as determined by the government in its settlement. For Good, her settlement amounts to $13.69 per day over the period in which she was in the system, abused, and disconnected from family and culture: a biting, powerful commentary on systems of apology and their subsequent pay-outs. What is the value of someone’s suffering? How does one calculate one person’s suffering over another’s, and in this case, a whole people’s categorical suffering imposed by a bureaucracy? Is the suffering worth less because it is endured by so many? Good’s essay is provocative in its presentation, furthering the discussion as to the role of Government in Indigenous child welfare, and into discussions around compensation for continued mismanagement post-Sixties Scoop. 

In her essay, “The Rise and Resistance of Indigenous Literature,” Good recounts the historical efforts made by writers and historians such as Harold Cardinal, Maria Campbell, and George Manuel in writing about their personal experiences and those of a people widely abused by the government and its supporting structures and institutions, and indirectly combatting unjust government policy, like Pierre Trudeau’s White Paper. As Good points out, these voices have been present for decades, struggling to find their way into the mainstream and to be heard by Canadians. In this post-TRC world, Indigenous authors are finally achieving more widespread success. The timely and astute essays comprising Michelle Good’s Truth Telling build on the works of previous authors and activists, bringing a new perspective to Indigenous issues, and widening their historical context. The result is a propitious offering that makes for an accessible and galvanizing read.

The perfect book for both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous readers, this beautifully written book dives deep into the history of colonial Canada, and exposes many atrocities that are not common knowledge.

I really loved Michelle Good's novel "Five Little Indians" so was very excited to receive a digital ARC of her new essay collection, "Truth Telling". It did not disappoint - Good is a very compelling writer. Each of the essays in this collection are thought-provoking, impactful and educational in their explorations of both historical and contemporary Indigenous experience in Canada. Very important reading - it would be great to see this book added to required reading lists in Canadian secondary schools. Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins Canada, and HarperCollins Publishers for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Make this book required reading in schools. I highly recommend buying a copy when this hits bookstores tomorrow. Miigwech for these stories and your bravery, Michelle.

Truth Telling by Michelle Good is a collection of seven essays through which readers learn the historical and contemporary experience of Indigenous life in Canada. As an Amerindian, I cannot stress enough how important reading this collection is. It deepened my understanding of the past and present.

I felt like I could hear Goods voice as I read. This book contains no useless information, and I found everything relevant and aided in building her perspective. A handbook on the horrors committed in the name of "advancement" by the Canadian government, Good explains what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report is and where some of its recommendations stem from. Goods personal experiences shed light on some of the recommendations Indigenous populations have made of the Canadian government.

Informed by personal experience and knowledge, Good shows how wickedness continues to support the institutions in power and the ongoing human suffering rooted in colonialism. Something I have experienced one too many times. One time is too many, and a critical examination of the Canadian narrative is required.

If you want to learn more about the strained Indigenous-government relations in Canada, I highly recommend this read. You will also gain insight into its history and how colonialism destroys entire generations and steals their futures.

Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins Canada, and HarperCollins Publishers for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was brilliant. Smart, thoughtful, and so compellingly written, Michelle Good knows her way around words, and each of these seven essays served as a conversation inviting readers to learn and unlearn, and challenge themselves, and their deeply held impressions and biases.

The book itself is short, just over 200 pages, but it packs quite a punch. I learnt a lot through my reading, but more than just being informative and educational, it was also really gripping and accessible, easy to make your way through. Each of the seven essays serves as a conversation, about the historical and contemporary realities and experiences faced by Indigenous people (specifically in Canada). They’re meticulously researched, and accompanied by images and snippets of historic artifacts, and contemporary visuals, to help highlight the story.

This has cemented itself into a new classic, and a must-read, not just for what Canadians will learn and confront about our history, nor only for the ways that it will invite us to think about reconciliation, but also because it was just so well written!

This was such a meaningful book to read. I felt like I was sitting in a circle with Michelle Good as she shared her views on some pressing issues facing Canadian/Indigenous society today. I continue to seek books to educate myself about Indigenous history and how it informs contemporary issues in Canada and beyond. She has presented seven essays, discussing different conversational topics that we must address in order to change paradigms and pursue reconciliation in Canada.

On a practical level, this book is a success in that it’s accessible, and I think a lot of folks will pick it up and be engaged by her relatively short and to-the-point essays, her conversational no-nonsense tone, and her forthright suggestions for moving forward. I did feel like I was hearing her voice and understanding her perspective as I read. Nothing is superfluous here; everything is relevant and builds her point of view.

The book is divided into seven “conversations,” many of which present a short review of history. I appreciated how she relates history to current issues, conveying a sense of the immediacy of history–colonization didn’t happen very long ago! For example, in “Land Back,” what does Crown land actually mean? The answer is fascinating and illuminating. Serious food for thought. It made me look at what I take for truth in a different way.

Though all important, the chapters that spoke loudest to me were:

“Racism, Carefully Sown”
-A powerful examination of the sexualization of Indigenous women, their devaluation and how that directly impacts their safety and status today.

“13.69”
-Good’s own story of being in abusive foster care leads to an examination of child welfare and what true reconciliation means.

“The Rise and Resistance of Indigenous Literature”
-An inspiring, good-news story of the burgeoning and blossoming of Indigenous literature in Canada.

I hope and expect that Truth Telling will open up many important conversations that will move all of us forward as participants in real reconciliation.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Canada for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is not a review; it should be required reading.

Through seven essays, Good explores the historical and contemporary experience of Indigenous life in Canada.

I implore you to read the collection.

Covering a wide range of topics – broken treaties, the Peasant Farming Policy, the Indian Act / White Paper / Red Paper, to the general mischaracterization and mistreatment of Indigenous women, the horrific reality of residential schools, racism, cultural appropriation / “pretendians”, to the importance of Indigenous literature – collectively the essays are a book of knowledge. They deepened my understanding of past and present.

Informed by personal experience and knowledge, Good makes obvious the ongoing human suffering rooted colonialism, and how its perversion continues to underpin the institutions in power. As a third generation Canadian, I am appalled that I am learning many things for the first time (and despite 22 years of formal Canadian education under my belt). The information in this collection must be known, acknowledged, and widely disseminated. All of it is deeply shameful and requires a critical examination of the Canadian narrative.

Without truth and without a recharacterization of Canadian history / future (including self-determination, return of land, and a just redistribution of wealth taken from that land), there can be no reconciliation. It requires active participation and systematic change.

Read the essays. And then read them again. I know that I will.

This book publishes in less than two weeks and I will be adding a physical copy to my shelves on pub day. You should too!

I read this book for free through NetGalley. I've been on my own personal journey of Reconciliation for the last couple of years, and have found this book to be an excellent and necessary addition. It has definitely opened my mind to see perspectives I hadn't thought of before.

Review: Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada by Michelle Good

A passionate treatise with elements of autobiography, Michelle Good’s Truth Telling exposes, with devastating detail, the ongoing impacts of colonisation and the residential school system on Indigenous people and communities.

These essays are an opportunity to hear the passionate heart of the author of Five Little Indians, but also to join Good in an important conversation about Indigenous issues in Canada by listening to her experience as well as detailed research of the harm perpetuated by colonial ideas and ongoing misrepresentation of Indigenous identity. Each essay stands on its own, but as a collection, the essays thoroughly explore the frustration Good and Indigenous communities have with Canadian policy to undermine and undervalue Indigenous voices and claims.

This important text is available for purchase as a preorder now and will be in stores on May 30. Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for the advanced copy. This is my honest opinion.

Michelle Good writes with brevity and gravity — a skill that's hard to come by. This book is an excellent primer on the atrocities committed in the name of "advancement" by the Canadian government. It also does a really good job of explaining what the Truth and Reconcilliation Commission Report is all about and where some of its recommendations stem from. The author's personal experiences, some very tragic, do a good job of anchoring some of the recommendations Indigenous populations have made of our government.

This book is a heavy read, and tough to go through in a sitting, not because it's not well-written, but because the subject matter is sombre, often morbid in places. I highly recommend this to anyone looking to learn more about the history and present of the strained Indigenous-government relations in Canada, its history, and how colonialism destroys entire generations and steals their futures.

Miigwech for your courage and for these stories, Michelle.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Canada for the opportunity to read early. I found this a searing, intelligent, thought-provoking book that reframes the history of Indigenous-Settler relations. It spoke powerfully to the culpability of non-Indigenous Canadians and our responsibility to reconciliation. Please note: I was only able to find this book on Goodreads using the ISBN because the title there is "The Sky Has Reasons to Cry: Essays" and I believe that's now been changed to "Truth Telling." Since other reviewers and readers may also have the same problem, if possible, the title should be updated with Goodreads.