A Grandmother Begins the Story: A Novel

by Michelle Porter, Jani Lauzon (Narrator), Tara Sky (Narrator)

National Bestseller
Winner of the 2024 Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award
Finalist for the 2023 Writers' Trust Atwood Gibson Fiction Prize


Five generations of Métis women argue, dance, struggle, laugh, love, and tell the stories that will sing their family, and perhaps the land itself, into healing in this brilliantly original debut novel.

Carter is a young mother, recently separated. She is curious, angry, and on a quest to find out what the heritage she only learned of in her teens truly means.

Allie is trying to make up for the lost years with her first born, and to protect Carter from the hurt she herself suffered from her own mother.

Lucie wants the granddaughter she's never met to help her join her ancestors in the Afterlife.

Geneviève is determined to conquer her demons before the fire inside burns her up, with the help of the sister she lost but has never been without.

And Mamé, in the Afterlife, knows that all their stories began with her; she must find a way to loose herself from the last threads that keep her tethered to the living, just as they must find their own paths forward.

This extraordinary novel, told by a chorus of vividly realized, funny, wise, confused, struggling characters—including descendants of the bison that once freely roamed the land—heralds the arrival of a stunning new voice in literary fiction.

Audible Audio

Published May 30, 2023

About the author

MICHELLE PORTER is the descendent of a long line of Métis storytellers. Many of her ancestors told stories using music and today she tells stories using the written word. She holds degrees in Journalism, Folklore, English, and a PhD in Geography. Her academic research and creative work focus on home, memory, and women’s changing relationships with the land.

Her book A Grandmother Begins the Story: A Novel will be published November 7, 2023.

Her most recent book, Scratching River, a memoir exploring the meaning of her Métis heritage through her older brother’s life story, was published by Wilfrid Laurier Press in April 2022. She’s also published a book of creative nonfiction about her great-grandfather, a fiddler from the Red River, called Approaching Fire (shortlisted for the Indigenous Voices Award 2021) and a book of poetry, Inquiries, (shortlisted for the Pat Lowther Memorial Award). Michelle has won numerous awards for her poetry and journalism and her work has been published in literary journals and magazines across the country. Currently she is teaching creative writing and Métis Literature at Memorial University. She is a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation and she lives in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Reviews

[Joanne Culley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Grandmother Begins the Story by Michelle Porter, an author and member of the Manitoba Metis Federation is told from the points of view of five generations of Metis women, four living, and one, great-great grandmother Mame, in the afterlife, providing viewpoints on their intertwining lives and effects of years of trauma: of dislocation from their culture due to residential schools and adoption, substance abuse, and the regaining of their identity through music and other traditional practices. Another perspective is that of Dee, a young bison taken away from her mother and her herd and her attempts to reconnect with her original grasslands after the massive decimation of the bison on the prairies.

[Emily Furse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved this book. Started out a bit slow and confusing trying to learn all the characters. Once that was out of the way, I enjoyed this book immensely and I have thought about it a lot since finishing it. I loved all the different perspectives. I also thought the author did a great job at discussing adoption. Most books paint and rainbows and roses view of adoption and this author wrote about the difficult parts of adoption and navigating tough relationships.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A multi-member cast reading of the stories lends authenticity and truth. Personalities are well-defined. Excellent storytelling which grabs the listener from the beginning. Always a pleasure to hear Tantoo Cardinal. The afterlife; multigenerational dynamics; Metis experiences. Worth your time.

[Luce Cronin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a very unusual book! Its style is that of poetry rather than prose. Its characters are a collective rather than individuals. It is composed of many voices, all chiming in at once and individually. A book that I will re-read often.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five generations of Métis women each dealing with their trauma, set against a group of buffalo. Liked the short chapters with summary names and how all connected in the end