Description
Join us for a warm evening with the wonderful novelist Amanda Peters, whose new book The Birthing Tree is already an instant national bestseller. Peters will be in conversation with author Carleigh Baker. This event is free, but please RSVP here as capacity is limited and spaces will fill quickly!
The Birthing Tree is a novel of family, legacy and secrets. In 1955, Aliet’s mother dies in childbirth beneath the birthing tree, a large old oak where Indigenous women have been giving birth for longer than anyone can remember. Aliet’s grandmother, the local midwife, has assisted in the successful births of babies there for decades. Yet on that fateful day tragedy strikes, and it’s her own daughter, Maggie, who dies under her care.
After her mother’s death, Aliet is raised by her grandmother and becomes an apprentice to her knowledge of midwifery and Indigenous medicine. At the base of the birthing tree, Aliet becomes the keeper of sacred knowledge, educated so that she may, one day, carry on these traditional practices. Yet, when Aliet grows older, she unexpectedly turns away from her grandmother, her community and all that she’s learned.
Years later, after her grandmother dies, Aliet returns home to a crumbling house and the memories she thought she’d outrun: the love and loss that shaped her young life; the teachings of her grandmother; and the mystery of her own bloodline. She also realizes that to truly start her life over again, she must finally come to terms with a long-held family secret and the unresolved heartbreak and grief of her past.
Copies of The Birthing Tree and The Berry Pickers will be available for sale and signing.
About Upstart & Crow:
Upstart & Crow is a not-for-profit creative studio and literary incubator that champions writers, readers and stories, and the role they play in shaping our lives. We develop original programs, support artists and revel in creative projects focused on Literature In Translation / Climate Solutions / Poetry / Civic Dialogue / Community & Skills Building … all with the aim of elevating the role of literature and storytelling in our lives. Find us on Granville Island, Gibsons and online at upstartandcrow.com.
Accessibility:
The main studio of our shop is accessible for folks with mobility aids. There is a washroom on the main floor available for attendees. As part of disability justice and community care for the chronically ill, vulnerable and elderly, we ask that you refrain from attending if you feel sick.
Questions: hello[at]upstartandcrow.com.
