The Unweaving by Cheryl Parisien

A historical novel exploring one Métis family's fight against colonialism.

Image | The Unweaving by Cheryl Parisien

(Tidewater Press)

In 1869, the arrival of surveyors from the new Dominion of Canada sends ripples of anxiety through the people of Red River. As the Métis Nation begins negotiating terms for joining Confederation, each member of the Rougeau family adapts in their own way: Clément looks outward, trying to maintain his livelihood as a carter, while his wife, Marienne, looks inward, determined to hold their fracturing family together. Julien, the eldest son, joins Louis Riel to confront the same intruders that so impress his sister, Charlotte. As the Red River Resistance unfolds, the consequences of each choice become heartbreakingly clear. (From Tidewater Press)
Cheryl Parisien is a Winnipeg-based Red River Métis writer. The Unweaving is her first novel, which is loosely based on her own family's history.