Heart Berries
| Company type | Memoir |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founder | Terese Marie Mailhot |
| Products | Book |
Heart Berries: A Memoir marks the literary debut of First Nation Canadian author Terese Marie Mailhot. The narrative recounts Mailhot's challenging early years, her experiences as a young mother, and her adult journey confronting mental health issues and identity struggles. The memoir sheds light on topics pertinent to Indigenous women, including the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. It attained the 14th position on The New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover nonfiction and was shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction. Critics have highlighted its unique narrative style, which has received widespread acclaim.
Overview
The initial publication features a foreword by Spokane-Coeur d'Alene author Sherman Alexie, who described Mailhot as the "biological child of a broken healer and a lonely artist."
The memoir is composed of essays that delve into Mailhot's upbringing on the Seabird Island Indian Reservation in British Columbia, her marriage during adolescence, and the loss of custody of her first child coinciding with the birth of her second. It chronicles her struggles with mental health disorders such as PTSD and bipolar disorder, emphasizing her voluntary admission to a psychiatric facility. In this setting, where culturally aware First Nations counselors were absent, she began crafting Heart Berries as a therapeutic outlet.
The narrative explores Mailhot's intricate family relationships, including her mother's tendency to involve predatory men in their lives and her father's reckless conduct culminating in his violent demise. It also traces her developing bond with writer Casey Gray, her second spouse, depicted both as a cherished partner and a figure symbolizing persecution.
The memoir concludes with a Q&A session between Mailhot and Inupiaq poet Joan Naviyuk Kane.
Family
Terese Marie Mailhot's mother, Karen Joyce Bobb Wahzinak, appears as a character in a play by Paul Simon. Her father, Ken Paquette, was featured in the documentary Hope, directed by Stuart Reaugh and Thomas Buchan.
Reception
The Los Angeles Times characterized Heart Berries as "poetic, urgent, short, brutal and at times darkly humorous." The New York Times described it as "a sledgehammer," valuing its emotional impact over refinement. In The Guardian, critic Diana Evans commended the memoir's candid depiction of sexual abuse, racial oppression, and addiction, balanced with dark humor and compassion for vulnerability.
Joe Fassler of The Atlantic observed that the book challenges traditional publishing conventions while demonstrating that literature can surpass formal boundaries. The Star Tribune noted its distinctive style as simultaneously "spooky and powerful," with interpretations ranging from poetic mastery to incoherence.
By April 2018, Heart Berries had climbed to number 14 on The New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover nonfiction. It was a contender for the 2018 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction and recognized among TIME's best nonfiction titles of 2018. Additionally, the book secured the tenth spot on the Toronto Star Canadian nonfiction bestseller chart.
See also
- There There (2018), the debut novel by Tommy Orange, an author of Cheyenne and Arapaho descent
External links
- Conversation with Trevor Noah from The Daily Show, July 4, 2018
- Dialogue with Lulu Garcia-Navarro on National Public Radio, February 11, 2018