Becoming a Matriarch: A Memoir Audiobook

Quotes

• #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER

• “Becoming a Matriarch is about the work of carving out a ‘beautiful space’ in a life where freedom and love can flourish. Helen Knott tells the story of the women in her family pushing up against the boundaries of gender, race, and class and, in so doing, Knott shows us that another way of living is possible. Her sentences are poetic and dazzling; they are little anchors the grieving can fasten themselves to—readers will surely return to them again and again.

  — Billy-Ray Belcourt, author of A Minor Chorus

• In enchantingly vivid language and with a compelling narrative arc, Helen Knott’s new masterpiece is a memoir of grief and joy, loss and rediscovery, flight and return and, above all, a paean to the beautiful, eternal, soothing and all-encompassing power of matriarchy.

  — Gabor Maté MD, author of The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture

• Becoming a Matriarch is a vivid, lyrical exploration of womanhood, loss, grief, and eventually, self-love, braided together with radiance and wisdom. Knott brilliantly uses memory as a tool for self-exploration and growth. The land, dreams and body are in constant communication: ‘My body knows the mountains and rivers and berry bushes that it comes from.’ Throughout the book you can’t help but ask yourself, what does it mean to come from strong women and still allow yourself space to be loved? Becoming a Matriarch teaches us that joy can exist inside the cracks of the most tumultuous times in our lives and love can still bloom if we let it.

  — Chelene Knight, author of Dear Current Occupant and Junie

• Becoming a Matriarch is a feast of remarkable, colourful, deep and profoundly raw storytelling. Helen Knott is one of the greatest Indigenous literary artists of our time.

  — Brandi Morin, author of Our Voice of Fire: A Memoir of a Warrior Rising Praise for In My Own Moccasins

• The best kind of memoir: clear-eyed, generous, and glorious. . . .  Bear witness to the emergence of one of the most powerful voices of her generation.

  — Eden Robinson, author of Son of a Trickster and Monkey Beach (from the foreword)

• Intelligent, courageous, emotionally searing.

  — Globe and Mail

• Proclaims healing a revolutionary act.

  — Booklist

• An incredibly forceful and moving book, the embodiment of what it means to reconcile, both with oneself and with others.

  — Quill & Quire

• Helen Knott speaks truth to the experience of Indigenous women living through the violence of colonized spaces and she does so with grace, beauty and a ferocity that makes me feel so proud.

  — Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, author of Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies

• Helen writes beautifully and painfully, about her own life and the lives of many of our sisters. A strong, gentle voice removing the colonial blanket and exposing truth.

  — Maria Campbell, author of Halfbreed

• An incredible debut that documents how trauma and addiction can be turned into healing and love. I am in awe of Helen Knott and her courage. I am a fan for life. Wow.

  — Richard Van Camp, author of The Lesser Blessed

• Heartfelt, heartbreaking, triumphant and raw, In My Own Moccasins is a must-read for anyone who's ever felt lost in their life. . . Actually, it's a must-read for anyone who appreciates stories of struggle, redemption and healing. Knott’s writing is confident, clear, powerful and inspiring.

  — Jowita Bydlowska, author of Guy: A Novel and Drunk Mom

• Powerful, filled with emotion.

  — Carol Daniels, author of Bearskin Diary and Hiraeth

• A beautiful rendering of how recovery for our peoples is inevitably about reconnecting with Indigenous identities, lands, cultural and healing practices.

  — Kim Anderson, author of Reconstructing Native Womenhood  

• “Profoundly moving. . . . With wit and courage, Knott takes the reader along her journey of self-discovery from the depths of loss and grief to rise as a matriarch herself.

  — Indiginews“Becoming a Matriarch is about the work of carving out a ‘beautiful space’ in a life where freedom and love can flourish. Helen Knott tells the story of the women in her family pushing up against the boundaries of gender, race, and class and, in so doing, Knott shows us that another way of living is possible. Her sentences are poetic and dazzling; they are little anchors the grieving can fasten themselves to—readers will surely return to them again and again.

• #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLERONE OF INDIGO'S TEN BEST BOOKS OF 2023

• #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLERONE OF INDIGO'S TEN BEST BOOKS OF 2023ONE OF THE CBC'S BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF 2023

• Becoming a Matriarch is a feast of remarkable, colourful, deep and profoundly raw storytelling. Helen Knott is one of the greatest Indigenous literary artists of our time.

  — Brandi Morin, author of Our Voice of Fire: A Memoir of a Warrior Rising

• Profoundly moving. . . . With wit and courage, Knott takes the reader along her journey of self-discovery from the depths of loss and grief to rise as a matriarch herself.

  — Indiginews

• #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLERA GLOBE AND MAIL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR ONE OF CBC’S BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF INDIGO’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

• #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLERA GLOBE AND MAIL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR ONE OF CBC’S BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF INDIGO’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEARSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 HUBERT EVANS NON-FICTION PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 JIM DEVA PRIZE FOR WRITING THAT PROVOKES