“Soft As Bones,” Sage’s debut project that drops on May 27, is a prose-driven exploration of generational trauma that stems from the systemic breakdown of her own family unit largely due to the Sixties Scoop, an era during which Canadian child welfare policies allowed for the forceful removal thousands of Native children from their families (they were rehomed to white households).
Her storytelling, in a format she calls a “braided spiral” because of its interwoven cultural mythology and tendency to loop back to the central plot, is both poignant and whimsical. It’s with this balance that Sage, who has previously written for HuffPost, is able to confront the agonizing and multilayered betrayal by her father — and create a new space for her family to heal.
Throughout the book, especially in the passages of vibrantly detailed folklore and magic realism, there is a levity of spirit that reflects the type of Indigenous resilience that comes with time and reflection. Sage’s message, as we come to understand toward the end, is that the wealth of community is powerful enough to rebuild what’s been torn down in the past. And the concept of “returning home” is more about releasing pain and trusting our agency than anything else.
KEEP READING: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/chyana-marie-sage-memoir-soft-as-bones_n_682b7327e4b095274facef05
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