Awards

• Commended for CBC Best Book of 2025 2025 (Canada)
• Short-listed for Foreword INDIES Book of the Year in Autobiography and Memoir 2025 (United States)

Overview

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER A CBC Best Book of 2025 A poetic memoir as intricately woven as a dreamcatcher about overcoming the pain of generational trauma with the power of traditional healing In candid, incisive, and delicate prose, Chyana Marie Sage shares the pain of growing up with her father, a crack dealer who went to prison for molesting her older sister. In revisiting her family's history, Chyana examines the legacy of generational abuse, which began with her father's father, who was forcibly removed from his family by the residential schools and Sixties Scoop programs. Yet hers is also a story of hope, as it was the traditions of her people that saved her life, healing one small piece in the mosaic that makes up the dark past of colonialism shared by Indigenous people throughout Turtle Island.

Full Product Details

9781487013028

Table of Contents

Reviews

“Gritty yet lyrical … Soft as Bones is a startling, powerful memoir about surviving family trauma and First Nations perseverance.” — Foreword, STARRED review “[Sage] toggles effortlessly between the roles of diarist, poet, and journalist, linking her personal history to a pattern of intergenerational violence, all without snuffing out hope for healing. Readers will be as inspired as they are horrified.” — Publisher’s Weekly “Tenderly and candidly explores the legacies of Native boarding schools, colonialism, and violence to disrupt intergenerational trauma in search of hope and healing.” — Ms. Magazine

“Gritty yet lyrical … Soft as Bones is a startling, powerful memoir about surviving family trauma and First Nations perseverance.” — Foreword, STARRED review “[Sage] toggles effortlessly between the roles of diarist, poet, and journalist, linking her personal history to a pattern of intergenerational violence, all without snuffing out hope for healing. Readers will be as inspired as they are horrified.” — Publisher’s Weekly

“Gritty yet lyrical … Soft as Bones is a startling, powerful memoir about surviving family trauma and First Nations perseverance.” — Foreword, STARRED review “[Sage] toggles effortlessly between the roles of diarist, poet, and journalist, linking her personal history to a pattern of intergenerational violence, all without snuffing out hope for healing. Readers will be as inspired as they are horrified.” — Publisher’s Weekly “Tenderly and candidly explores the legacies of Native boarding schools, colonialism, and violence to disrupt intergenerational trauma in search of hope and healing.” — Ms. Magazine ""Maps the pain of generational trauma — and the journey to healing."" —HuffPost

Author Information

CHYANA MARIE SAGE is an award-winning Cree, Métis, and Salish writer from Edmonton, Alberta. She has an MFA in creative nonfiction from Columbia University, where she was the first Indigenous graduate. She lives in Toronto working as the Storyteller and Content Writer for Indspire. Her debut memoir, Soft As Bones, became an instant national bestseller. Sage's writing weaves together Cree histories, myths, and teachings as modes of healing throughout her work.

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