Probably Ruby
Lisa Bird-Wilson

Relinquished as an infant, Ruby is placed in a foster home and finally adopted by Alice and Mel, a less-than-desirable couple who can't afford to complain too loudly about Ruby's Indigenous roots. And so-begins Ruby's life-long identity crisis, which she describes as having amnesia about something that never happened. Her new parents' marriage falls apart and Ruby finds herself vulnerable and in compromising situations that lead her to search, in the unlikeliest of places, for her Indigenous identity. Unabashedly self-destructing on alcohol, drugs, and bad relationships, Ruby grapples with the meaning of the legacy left to her.
Probably Ruby won two 2022 Saskatchewan Book Awards, including the Regina Public Library Book of the Year Award Honouring Mary Sutherland and the City of Saskatoon/Saskatoon Public Library Saskatoon Award.
Lisa Bird-Wilson is a Saskatchewan Métis and nêhiyaw writer. Her book Just Pretending won four Saskatchewan Book Awards. She is also the author of the poetry collection The Red Files.
- 'Kinship is one of the most important things': Lisa Bird-Wilson's Probably Ruby is about the power of heritage
- Lisa Bird-Wilson wins book of the year at 2022 Saskatchewan Book Awards for her novel Probably Ruby
- The best Canadian fiction of 2021
- Lisa Bird-Wilson on why you should read the poetry collection Passage by Gwen Benaway
- Lisa Bird-Wilson on the role of art in reconciliation
- Saskatoon's Lisa Bird-Wilson uses poetry to explore the experience of residential school
- 58 Canadian works of fiction coming out in spring 2021
- 29 Canadian books we can't wait to read in August
Other books by Lisa Bird-Wilson
Comments
To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted.
By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.
Become a CBC Member
Join the conversation Create account
Already have an account?