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→
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→
CBC Books: Governor General’s Literary Award winner Darrel J. McLeod publishing first novel this fall
Cree writer Darrel J. McLeod is known for his personal and intimate memoirs. He’s published two — Mamaskatch and Peyakow — both of which explore his youth and childhood. McLeod was raised by his mother, Bertha, who is a residential school survivor, and was bullied by white classmates, lived in poverty, endured physical and sexual abuse and lost several people he loved. Both books resonated with readers and critics alike… READ FULL ARTICLE→