Birdie
CBC Books | CBC | Posted: September 16, 2016 5:55 PM | Last Updated: September 16, 2016
Birdie follows a Cree woman known as Birdie on a modern-day quest from her home in northern Alberta to Gibsons, British Columbia, where she hopes to meet her teenage crush: Jesse from The Beachcombers. Birdie's troubled childhood has left her with inner demons, and her adventures take a dark turn, forcing her to find the strength to heal old wounds and build a new life. Informed by Cree lore, Birdie is a darkly comic novel about finding out who you are and where you're from.
Birdie is being defended by Bruce Poon Tip on Canada Reads 2016.
Excerpt:
Maggie sits in the old tavern, amongst friends. The only spirits in the place, in the place with the endless celebration, are those that swirl around them, little tornadoes of light, laughter, love and grace. She reaches out and touches one, is lit up, feels her littlebigwomandaughter/mother and knows the love by heart. The sensation is one of satiation: full and fed. With the same light, laughter, love and grace. She was peaceful the moment she left. She is at peace when she touches the spirit she knows is in Bernice. Her girl is rich, rich with possibility and lifeforce. It fills Maggie and the room and everyone is awed for a moment while it passes through and over them. Her girl is filled with feelings that Maggie only gets to feel now, in this place.
From Birdie by Tracey Lindberg ©2015. Published by HarperCollins Canada.