"September 11th called this book into being.... Never before in our nation's history, not even after Pearl Harbor, has it been so clear that the voices, nature and activity of healing, peacemaking, and Council need to be called forth."Deena Metzger takes us on a journey from North America to Africa, from the stories of her life to the myths of Spirit. Travelling the Ghost River connects the world of humans to the world of souls, spirits and our ancestors. At the exact moment the World Trade Center towers were hit, Deena and others were at an ancient, sacred site in Masvingo, Africa being initiated as healers. Two stories intersected in that moment, one headed toward destruction, the other toward healing. At the intersection of these two worlds, Deena asks the question: how do we create a story with a real future in which all beings are sustained? Deena brings her knowledge and experience of healing body and soul to the issues of healing community, both locally and globally. Following the threads of September 11th, she shows us how we can understand the larger story, and awaken to ourselves. This awakening and alleviation of suffering comes through the context of kinship, of community, of Story. Story is not of our own making; it is a gift from Spirit. Deena examines the very underpinnings of Western thought, healing, and religious practices the stories that have mapped our lives and shows us how the web of interconnection contains, with the joint perspectives of indigenous mind and contemporary vision, the possibility of healing.

A powerful, raw yet eloquent memoir from a residential school survivor and former First Nations Chief, Up Ghost River is a necessary step toward our collective healing. In the 1950s, 7-year-old Edmund Metatawabin was separated from his family and placed in one of Canada’s worst residential schools. St. Anne’s, in north­ern Ontario, is an institution now notorious for the range of punishments that staff and teachers inflicted on students. Even as Metatawabin built the trappings of a successful life—wife, kids, career—he was tormented by horrific memories. Fuelled by alcohol, the trauma from his past caught up with him, and his family and work lives imploded. In seeking healing, Metatawabin travelled to southern Alberta. There he learned from elders, par­ticipated in native cultural training workshops that emphasize the holistic approach to personhood at the heart of Cree culture, and finally faced his alcoholism and PTSD. Metatawabin has since worked tirelessly to expose the wrongdoings of St. Anne’s, culminating in a recent court case demanding that the school records be released to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Now Metatawabin’s mission is to help the next generation of residential school survivors. His story is part of the indigenous resurgence that is happening across Canada and worldwide: after years of oppression, he and others are healing themselves by rediscovering their culture and sharing their knowledge. Coming full circle, Metatawabin’s haunting and brave narrative offers profound lessons on the impor­tance of bearing witness, and the ability to become whole once again.

The highly anticipated new novel from the Miles Franklin-shortlisted author of Blood ‘You find yourself down at the bottom of the river, for some it's time to give into her. But other times, young fellas like you two, you got to fight your way back. Show the river you got courage and is ready to live.' The river is a place of history and secrets. For Ren and Sonny, two unlikely friends, it's a place of freedom and adventure. For a group of storytelling vagrants, it's a refuge. And for the isolated daughter of a cult reverend, it's an escape. Each time they visit, another secret slips into its ancient waters. But change and trouble are coming – to the river and to the lives of those who love it. Who will have the courage to fight and survive and what will be the cost?