15 Canadian books to read to get into the Olympic spirit
CBC Books | | Posted: July 22, 2021 2:53 PM | Last Updated: July 22
If you're inspired by the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, check out one of these great Canadian books!
The Olympics are taking place July 26-Aug. 11, 2024 and the Paralympics are taking place Aug. 28-Sept. 8. You can see a complete schedule of events here.
Races by Valerie Jerome
The Jerome family have an historic record in Canadian sports with the grandfather being the country's first Black Olympian and siblings Harry and Valerie also competing and setting world records in the 1960s. In the book Races, Valerie Jerome details those heroic moments for her family and the nation, that came alongside the racism they simultaneously had to face.
Valerie Jerome is the granddaughter of Canada's first Black Olympian John "Army" Howard and a Canadian Olympian herself. She has previously represented the Green Party of British Columbia and her work in conservation garnered her a 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal and a City of Vancouver Heritage Award.
WATCH | Valerie Jerome on BC Today:
Ignite by Andre De Grasse
Ignite: Unlock the Hidden Potential Within is a book about Andre De Grasse's journey to becoming the most decorated male summer Olympian in Canadian history. It tells De Grasse's story while sharing the lessons he has learned about achieving success and finding happiness along the way.
De Grasse is a six-time Olympic medallist and World champion sprinter, and the founder of the Andre De Grasse Family Foundation. He is also the author of the picture book Race with Me!.
WATCH | Andre De Grasse discussees his latest book:
Alphonso Davies: A New Hope by Farhan Devji
Alphonso Davies: A New Hope is the first biography of the Canadian soccer sensation. Based on years of reporting and extensive interviews with friends and family, the book explores Davies's life and career from growing up amidst the Liberian Civil War to starting life in a new country and becoming a superstar, helping Canada reach the men's World Cup for the first time in 36 years.
Farhan Devji is the former reporter for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and a multimedia storyteller, whose writing has appeared in the Edmonton Journal and Ottawa Citizen. He produced the documentary Becoming Canadian: The Alphonso Davies Story.
The Save of My Life by Corey Hirsch and Sean Patrick Conboy
By age 22, Corey Hirsch had played in the NHL and won both an Olympic medal and a Stanley Cup. While he realized his dreams in the arena, off the ice Hirsch was plagued by mental health issues, often unable to get out of bed and stop the cycle of dark thoughts. The Save of My Life reflects on Hirsch's journey to a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder and his road to recovery as a professional athlete.
In 1994, Hirsch won the Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers as well as a silver medal at the Olympics. Born in Medicine Hat and raised in Calgary, he was drafted by the New York Rangers and played for many seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. After retiring from play, Hirsch became an NHL coach and later an analyst with Sportsnet. He also became the national youth ambassador for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and a co-host of The Players' Tribune podcast, Blindsided.
Sean Conboy is the editor-in-chief of the Players' Tribune, and was previously a contributing writer for Wired magazine.
Playing the Long Game by Christine Sinclair with Stephen Brunt
In collaboration with the Canadian sportswriter Stephen Brunt who has followed her career for years, Olympic soccer gold-medallist Christine Sinclair provides an in-depth look into what led her to become the top international goal scorer of all time and one of Canada's greatest athletes. She tells the stories behind some of her brightest successes and heartbreaking failures. In Playing the Long Game, the Sinclair shares the wisdom gleaned from a career spent changing the game of women's sport.
An Olympic gold medallist, Sinclair was a long-time forward and the captain of Canada's national soccer team. She is playing one final season for the Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League. Born and raised in Burnaby, B.C., she now lives in Portland, Oregon.
Stephen Brunt is a Canadian writer and broadcaster with Rogers Sportsnet and the author of multiple books including Facing Ali, Searching for Bobby Orr and Gretzky's Tears.
WATCH | Christine Sinclair on CBC Sports:
My Mother's Daughter by Perdita Felicien
Perdita Felicien's mom Catherine was a poor young woman in St. Lucia when she was given a seemingly random, but ultimately life-changing, opportunity: to come to Canada with a wealthy white family and become their nanny. But when she gets to Canada, life is tougher than she expected, as she endures poverty, domestic violence and even homelessness. However, she still encouraged and supported her youngest daughter's athletic dreams. Felicien would go on to be a world-class hurdler and one of Canada's greatest track athletes. My Mother's Daughter is the story of these two women, and how their love for each other got them through difficult times and changed their lives.
Perdita Felicien was a 10-time national champion, a two-time Olympian and became the first Canadian woman to win a gold medal at a world championships. She now works as a sports broadcaster and is part of CBC's team covering the Olympics. My Mother's Daughter is her first book.
WATCH | Perdita Felicien on the inspiration behind her latest book:
The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou
The Bone Cage is a novel that takes readers deep into the gruelling, often solitary world of amateur sport. It follows the fortunes of two athletes: a wrestler and a swimmer, both vying for a place on the Canadian Olympic team.
The Bone Cage was a contender for Canada Reads 2011, when it was defended by Georges Laraque.
Angie Abdou the author of several books, including the novel In Case I Go and nonfiction book Home Ice. She is a professor at Athabasca University.
LISTEN | Angie Abdou on The Next Chapter:
Girl Runner by Carrie Snyder
Girl Runner tells the story of Aganetha Smart, a former Olympic athlete who was famous in the 1920s, but now, at age 104, lives in a nursing home, alone and forgotten. When her quiet life is disturbed by the unexpected arrival of two young strangers, Aganetha begins to reflect on her childhood in rural Ontario and her struggles to make an independent life in the city.
Girl Runner was a finalist for the 2014 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.
Carrie Snyder is a fiction, nonfiction and children's book author. Her other books include the short story collections The Juliet Stories and Hair Hat. She is from Hamilton, Ont.
Forever Terry: A Legacy in Letters
Forever Terry: A Legacy in Letters celebrates the 40th anniversary of Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope. In 1980, Terry Fox captured Canada's imagination when he embarked on a run across Canada to raise money for cancer. The 21-year-old from Port Coquitlam, B.C., had lost part of his right leg to cancer when he was 18. He ran a marathon every day and made it as far as Thunder Bay, Ont., before the cancer spread to his lungs and he had to stop.
The book features 40 letters by 40 prominent Canadians, reflecting on Terry Fox's life and legacy. The book was edited by Terry Fox's younger brother, Darrell Fox.
Contributors include hockey player Bobby Orr, actor Shawn Ashmore, Olympian Perdita Felicien, writer Margaret Atwood, basketball star Steve Nash, singer Jann Arden and athlete and activist Rick Hansen. A portion of the book's proceeds will go to the Terry Fox Foundation to support cancer research.
LISTEN | The legacy of Terry Fox:
The Illegal by Lawrence Hill
The Illegal examines the plight of refugees who risk everything to start over in a country that doesn't want them. After his father is killed, runner Keita Ali flees his homeland to a country known as Freedom State, where his presence is illegal and he must go underground to survive.
The Illegal won Canada Reads 2016. The book was defended by Olympian Clara Hughes.
Lawrence Hill is the author of several books, including the novel The Book of Negroes. The Book of Negroes won Canada Reads in 2009 and was adapted into a six-part miniseries for CBC. He is also the author of Black Berry, Sweet Juice and Blood. He lives in Hamilton, Ont.
LISTEN | Lawrence Hill on The Illegal:
Open Heart, Open Mind by Clara Hughes
A six-time Olympic medalist, Clara Hughes was the first athlete ever to win multiple medals in both summer and winter games. But there's another story behind her celebrated career as an athlete — a long battle with substance abuse and depression. She shares this story in her memoir Open Heart, Open Mind.
Hughes is a cyclist, speed skater, author and humanitarian. She is the only Canadian athlete to win multiple medals at both the summer and winter Olympic Games. Open Heart, Open Mind is her first book.
WATCH | Clara Hughes on CBC:
Swimming Studies by Leanne Shapton
Swimming Studies is a collection of autobiographical sketches that explore the worlds of competitive and recreational swimming. Leanne Shapton contemplates how sport has shaped her life, from her training for the Olympic trials as a teenager to meditative swims in pools and oceans as an adult. Her stories are told in both writing pieces and illustrations.
Shapton is an artist and author of several books, including Guestbook: Ghost Stories and Women in Clothes. She is also the co-founder of J&L Books, a publisher of art and photography books. She lives in New York City.
Reclaiming Tom Longboat by Janice Forsyth
Reclaiming Tom Longboat looks at the history of Indigenous sport in Canada, using the Tom Longboat Awards as a guide. The Tom Longboat Awards annually recognize Indigenous athletes and their contributions to sport in Canada. Reclaiming Tom Longboat tells this story, alongside assessing how Canadian governmental practices and policy have shaped Indigenous relations, and Indigenous sports throughout history.
Janice Forsyth is an associate professor of sociology and the director of First Nations Studies at Western University. She is also the co-editor of Aboriginal Peoples and Sport in Canada.
LISTEN | The legacy of Tom Longboat:
The 4-year Olympian by Jeremiah Brown
The 4-year Olympian is a story of courage, perseverance and overcoming self-doubt. After nearly being incarcerated and becoming a father at 19, Jeremiah Brown manages to grow up into a responsible young adult. But he has one more goal — to become an Olympian.
Jeremiah Brown won an Olympic silver medal as a member of the Canadian men's eight rowing team at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He lives in Peterborough, Ont.
LISTEN | Jeremiah Brown speaks with CBC's Heather Hiscox:
The Greatest Athlete (You've Never Heard Of) by Mark Hebscher
George Washington Orton, paralyzed as a child and told he would never walk again, was the greatest distance runner of his generation, a world-class hockey player and a brilliant scholar — yet he is virtually unknown in Canada. Mark Hebscher tells his story in this book.
Mark Hebscher is a sports broadcaster and journalist who lives in Toronto. The Greatest Athlete (You've Never Heard Of) is his first book.
WATCH | Big Canadian moments at the Olympics: