Front cover: The Unweaving
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THE UNWEAVING
A novel

Author: Cheryl Parisien

2026 White Pine Award Nominee

Threatened by encroaching colonialism, one Métis family struggles to protect their way of life.

In 1869, the arrival of surveyors from the new Dominion of Canada sends ripples of anxiety through the people of Red River. As the Métis Nation begins negotiating terms for joining Confederation, each member of the Rougeau family adapts in their own way: Clément looks outward, trying to maintain his livelihood as a carter, while his wife, Marienne, looks inward, determined to hold their fracturing family together. Julien, the eldest son, joins Louis Riel to confront the same intruders that so impress his sister, Charlotte. As the Red River Resistance unfolds, the consequences of each choice become heartbreakingly clear.

“We are like the sash, woven together from different peoples and traditions, making something new, beautiful, and strong.”

  • Fiction, 262pp
  • ISBN 978-1-990160-40-0 (paperback)
  • ISBN 978-1-990160-41-7 (e-book)
  • 5.5″ x 8.5″
  • Published October 2024
  • Paperback: CA $24.95  / US $21.95
  • Ebook: CA $15.95 / US $13.95

These days, many Canadians might feel threatened as U.S. President Donald Trump engages in seemingly endless rhetoric about annexing Canada. In The Unweaving, Cheryl Parisien tells the story of people in a similar situation, worried about being annexed to the newly formed country of Canada in a story that helps make the Confederation era alive and personal.

Parisien is a Métis author living in Winnipeg whose ancestors lived on Red River lots in St. Norbert. In the past few years, she has conducted extensive research into her heritage and as she explains in her author’s note, her debut novel is based on her own family history, at least loosely.

. . . The Unweaving is a well-written, engaging novel, with realistic characters throughout. Parisien provides enough background to allow present-day readers to understand what life was like more than 150 years ago.

Susan Huebert, Winnipeg Free Press

Weaving a Cover

  • Metis sash - Chester Collectionneur Antiquités

The story behind the cover of "The Unweaving" the debut novel by Cheryl Parisien, published October 2024.