Hamilton Review of Books: Lessons in Humanity
Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail in conversation with Darrel McLeod. After a varied career, including the position of chief negotiator of land claims for the federal government and executive director of education and international affairs with the Assembly of First Nations, he now devotes himself to writing and music in Sooke, B.C. READ FULL INTERVIEW→
The Malahat Review: Mamaskatch review by Alana Sayers
Darrel J. McLeod’s Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age is a memoir I have been waiting for; its raw power of honesty, vulnerability, and truth drew me in from the first page and still holds on to me, even after I’ve finished reading. READ FULL REVIEW→
Pique Newsmagazine: Honesty and vulnerability key components in Mamaskatch
Author Darrel McLeod set to take part in Whistler Writers Festival, running from Oct. 11 to 14. While immersed in Darrel J. McLeod’s Governor General’s Literary Award-nominated memoir Mamaskatch, I found myself flipping frequently to a picture on the front cover. READ FULL ARTICLE→
Read Alberta: An Interview with Darrel J. McLeod
With steely determination, he triumphs: now elementary teacher; now school principal; now head of an Indigenous delegation to the UN in Geneva; now executive in the Government of Canada—and now a celebrated author. Darrel J. McLeod reflects on his two memoirs in this interview. READ FULL INTERVIEW→
Literary Hub: Cree Turned City Slicker
Returning to One’s Indigenous Heritage: Darrel J. McLeod on Teaching at a School in Yekooche. I could barely keep up with elder Catherine Bird as she sped through the now dense, now clear-cut forest to get to Yekooche, a Dakelh village 80 kilometers north of Fort St. James, British Columbia. READ FULL ARTICLE→
Vancouver Sun: New memoir maps the terrain of reconciliation
Darrell J. McLeod’s memoir offers up an unflinchingly honest account of growing up as an Indigenous Canadian. The young Cree man walks down to the banks of the Athabasca, wades in and ceremoniously bathes his face and arms. He is thinking about his mother, the strong, passionate and deeply wounded woman he helped bury the day before. And he is reflecting about her tragic life and the way that tragedy informed his own painful pilgrimage across the terrain of an essentially racist Canada. READ FULL REVIEW→
BC BookLook: A tale of trauma rises to the top
Darrel McLeod’s Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age wins the Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction. According to reviewer David Milward, Darrel J. McLeod “offers a brutally honest front-seat view of the havoc” wrought by intergenerational trauma. READ REVIEW→
Kirkus Reviews: Mamaskatch review
Lyrically written and linked by family, compassion, forgiveness, and hope, Mamaskatch sings out as a modern-day celebration. In his debut, the winner of the 2018 Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction, McLeod recounts his childhood and coming-of-age in Treaty Eight Cree territory in Northern Alberta. READ FULL REVIEW→
Darrel J. McLeod featured at The Afternoon Tea
The Afternoon Tea is always special: a chance to immerse in readings from a lineup of bestselling, award-winning and celebrated authors while savouring a high tea selection of treats with friends. This year, we present Jamaluddin Aram (Nothing Good Happens in Wazirabad on Wednesday), Carmen Boullosa (The Book of Eve), Michael Crummey (The Adversary), Elizabeth Hay (Snow Road Station), Emma Hooper (We Should Not Be Afraid of the Sky), Darrel J. McLeod (A Season in Chezgh’un). Hosted by Bill Richardson. SEE DETAILS→