Tangles: A Story about Alzheimer’s, My Mother, and Me by Sarah Leavitt
When it was published in 2010, Tangles—about Leavitt’s relationship with her mother, as her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease progresses—became the first work of graphic literature to be shortlisted for the Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction. In 2026, it’s been adapted into a movie that is heading to the 79th Cannes Film Festival! The film features the voice talents of an impressive cast: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Seth Rogen, Beanie Feldstein and more! Leavitt’s graphic memoir is “a spot-on portrait of the dark comedy and vast sadness that Alzheimer’s contains” (Vanity Fair), and it’s one of our all-time favourite books here at Freehand.
The Mystics of Mile End by Sigal Samuel
Set in Montreal’s Mile End neighbourhood, this impressive debut novel follows two siblings, Lev and Samara, and their father, David, a professor of Jewish mysticism. They all have different—and conflicting—relationships with faith and religion and science, and meanwhile their neighbour down the street (a Holocaust survivor) is replicating the Tree of Knowledge from the Bible out of toilet paper rolls and dental floss. This is a marvellously crafted novel about secrets, faith, “signs,” tradition, family, and the power of community.
Detachment: An Adoption Memoir by Maurice Mierau
In 2005, the author and his wife adopted two young children from Ukraine, and Detachment explores not just the process of adoption, but the process of becoming a family that happens in the months and years after the adoption papers are signed. As Mierau ponders fatherhood and his sons’ experiences, he finds himself thinking of his own father, who was also born in Ukraine and who has a traumatic and mysterious past of his own. Detachment is an unvarnished and honest memoir about learning to become a father and a son, and it was awarded the Kobzar Award for Ukrainian-Canadian Literature.
One Madder Woman by Dede Crane
Set in Paris in the mid-nineteenth century, One Madder Woman is a novel about the life of renowned painter Berthe Morisot, who was the sole female member of the group of artists who became known as the Impressionists. It’s a fascinating and richly drawn story about her devotion to her art— unthinkable for a woman at the time—and her complicated relationship with fellow artist Édouard Manet. Part of the fun of the novel is looking up the real-life works of art that feature in the plot, from Morisot, Manet, and their contemporaries! It’s a wonderful and engrossing work of historical fiction.
You Still Look the Same by Farzana Doctor
Fully of plenty of humour and wit, this debut collection of poetry from novelist Farzana Doctor is about navigating modern-day mid-life. Doctor is also a psychotherapist, and she includes “therapy homework”-inspired poems to divide up sections in the book: for the prompt “describe healing and recovery in as few words as possible,” she pens a haiku: “Then, out of the blue / you followed me on Twitter, / I no longer cared.” Doctor’s voice is personal and intimate, inviting the reader into her journey and encouraging them to reflect on their own.
Tales for Late Night Bonfires by G.A. Grisenthwaite
G.A. Grisenthwaite writes stories that could be told around the campfire, each one-upping the next. About a car that drives herself and has a mind of her own (and who is fiercely loyal to her owner). About a moose hunt that’s impossible (and yet somehow…). About Snk’y’ép, or Coyote, and the unorthodox way he acquired his new necklace. Grisenthwaite is so good at blending oral storytelling traditions with his own unique literary style to create these fascinating stories—stories that beg to be read aloud and shared.
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Thanks to Managing Editor Kelsey Attard at Freehand Books for sharing these must-read titles from their backlist. You can order any of these books through All Lit Up, or click the “Shop Local” button on the book listings to discover them at your local indie bookstore.
