A TwoSpirit Journey, MaNee Chacaby
A TwoSpirit Journey, MaNee Chacaby
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
Club: $12.99

A Two-Spirit Journey
The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder

Author: Ma-Nee Chacaby, Mary Louisa Plummer

Narrator: Marsha Knight

Unabridged: 11 hr 57 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: ECW Press

Published: 07/15/2021


Synopsis

A Two-Spirit Journey is Ma-Nee Chacaby’s extraordinary account of her life as an Ojibwa-Cree lesbian. From her early, often harrowing memories of life and abuse in a remote Ojibwa community riven by poverty and alcoholism, Chacaby’s story is one of enduring and ultimately overcoming the social, economic, and health legacies of colonialism. As a child, Chacaby learned spiritual and cultural traditions from her Cree grandmother and trapping, hunting, and bush survival skills from her Ojibwa stepfather. She also suffered physical and sexual abuse by different adults, and in her teen years became alcoholic herself. At twenty, Chacaby moved to Thunder Bay with her children to escape an abusive marriage. Abuse, compounded by racism, continued, but Chacaby found supports to help herself and others. Over the following decades, she achieved sobriety; trained and worked as an alcoholism counsellor; raised her children and fostered many others; learned to live with visual impairment; and came out as a lesbian. In 2013, Chacaby led the first gay pride parade in Thunder Bay. Ma-Nee Chacaby has emerged from hardship grounded in faith, compassion, humour, and resilience. Her memoir provides unprecedented insights into the challenges still faced by many Indigenous people.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Michelle on September 13, 2016

I can't say it better than the last paragraph of the afterword: "because of its difficult content, her account may be hard to read at times. Nonetheless, Ma-Nee's story is an inspirational example of courage, resilience and healing against great odds. We are fortunate she has shared it with us." This......more

Goodreads review by Jenna on April 24, 2018

Review originally published 23 April 2018 at Falling Letters. The subtitle of this aptly describes its content. Born in 1950 in a tuberculosis sanatorium, Chacaby was raised in a remote Ojibwa-Cree community in Ontario by her extraordinary grandmother, who was estimated to have been born in the 1860s......more

Goodreads review by Wendy on February 05, 2025

Read for Canada Reads 2025 In this exceptional, raw and powerful memoir Ma-Nee Chacaby recounts her, often times, harrowing life with a calm and steady voice filled with resilience and compassion. She greatly appreciates the knowledge of her Elders and for their traditional ways of life. Chacaby tells......more

Goodreads review by Julie on September 29, 2017

I think this was a good book and a compelling memoir. The reason it only got three stars for me was that it was in no way what the title led me to believe the story would be. To be clear, Ma-Nee's journey is her own to tell and it is completely valid. My issue is less with the content than with the......more

Goodreads review by Alex on January 19, 2025

My first read from the 2025 CBC Canada Reads Longlist! One of the best indigenous biographies I’ve read in the past few years - I really felt like I was sitting down, having a cup of tea, and listening to Ma-Nee tell me her life story. I also appreciated the author’s note at the end describing in de......more