Boys: What It Means to Become a Man by Rachel Giese is the winner of the 2019 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize, an annual $25,000 award that celebrates the best political writing in Canada.

Giese, a journalist from Toronto, delves into cultural norms around masculinity in her book and the ways it's shifted over time. As the mother of a young boy, Giese uses historical, sociological and psychological research to understand how she can help her son develop healthy relationships as he grows up.

"With a skillful mix of original reporting, scholarly research and personal anecdotes, Rachel Giese presents a deeply felt examination of the forces that shape how boys see themselves and how we see them," said the jury, comprised of Globe and Mail columnist André Picard, CBC reporter Angela Sterritt and author Chris Turner, in a press release.

"No one, from parents to policy makers, can read Boys without rethinking their notion of manliness, masculinity and how we raise young men."

Boys is Giese's first book. She is also the editorial director at Xtra and is a regular contributor to CBC Radio and the Globe and Mail.

The other finalists for the 2019 prize were Homes by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah with Winnie Yeung, Big Lonely Doug by Harley Rustad, Pipe Dreams by CBC New Brunswick reporter Jacques Poitras and Breaching the Peace by Sarah Cox.

Last year's winner was Tanya Talaga for Seven Fallen Feathers.

Other past winners include Kamal Al Solaylee, Jane Jacobs and Roméo Dallaire.