Canada Reads Wrap-Up! Shayla Stonechild Wins with Ma-Nee Chacaby's A Two Spirit Journey
With the final day of debates behind us, CBC Canada Reads 2025 has come to a close, and the winner of the competition is A Two Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby! The book was championed enthusiastically by podcaster and wellness advocate Shayla Stonechild, who fought to prove that this truly is the "one book to change the narrative," as was the focus and theme of the competition this year.
The decision was made in a 3-2 vote, in which Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew became the runner-up. Pastry chef Saïd M'Dahoma had championed the novel throughout the week with some poignant and passionate additions to the debates each day.
Stonechild was moved to tears by the win, and spoke openly about the impact of the competition.
"I really went through a really personal and radical transformation," she said. "It's my second year four-day fasting. And this is something that I think we need as Indigenous people as a reclamation of our ceremonies and of connection to Creator and this is what I wanted to champion Ma-Nee for is because there's solutions, there's ways forward and there's action."
"I would urge Canadians and all listeners to take action, but also to open your heart like Ma-Nee's. There's been so many strangers that have helped her along her journey and that's what makes us Canadian and that's what makes us unite as a country and as a nation."
The author, Ma-Nee Chacaby, made a press statement of her own where she said that winning Canada Reads is an "unexpected and beautiful gift."
"Mary and I want to thank everyone who joined us on this journey and made it possible, especially our friends and loved ones, and the wonderful staff of the University of Manitoba Press and Canada Reads. We really appreciate all of the readers and the other writers that also joined us on this journey," she wrote.
"Most of all we are grateful to Shayla Stonechild for choosing the book and championing it so well! We hope the book will inspire other people to tell their stories, especially First Nations elders who have so much to share. I encourage everybody to just enjoy your life today and remember to love yourself."
Shayla Stonechild Wins Canada Reads 2025
With the winner now announced, we're here to give our wrap-up rundown of the last two days of the competition, with some of the key highlights from day three and day four! We'll begin with the debates from yesterday morning.
The day began with Saïd M'Dahoma likening his upbringing to the multigenerational immigrant story in Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew. He talked about moving emigrating to Canada and eventually moving to Calgary, where he felt welcomed to a new home. But, he noted that there is always a feeling of being between worlds and trying to really understand your identity as an immigrant. All of this and more made the novel resonate with him, as it certainly would with readers throughout Canada.
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Next, Michelle Morgan followed up a trailer for Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper with personal reflections about her mother and her battle with dementia, and how that related to the character of Etta in the novel (who is struggling with Alzheimer's Disease), and who is determined to go on one final journey. Morgan talked about identity as well, and what she would do on such a journey given all that she has experience in her life.
Shayla Stonechild dove right in to the key issues at the heart of A Two-Spirit Journey by Ojibwa-Cree elder Ma-Nee Chacaby. She passionately spoke about the trauma suffered by the author of the memoir and how she still turned to hope in the book, with lessons in healing and personal discovery. Stonechild reflected on the systems that have consistently silenced Indigenous voices, and erased them, which hits close to home in her family.
In the following debates, there was lively discussion about each title, and which book might give us "hope in difficult times." With Linwood Barclay yearning for a resolution for the character of Lily in Dandelion, especially as it was a work of fiction and the author had the ability to finesse the story to achieve this. Maggie Mac Neil turned to Etta and Otto and Russell and James, and how different characters in the novel approached Etta's journey and the contrasting ways that they dealt with it. Michelle Morgan came back to Dandelion and that she couldn't truly forgive the mother in the story leaving her child, and felt the novel didn't satisfy the reasons for this decision. M'Dahoma highlighted the rejection and racism that this character felt, along with past traumas and the betrayal of her husband in getting in the way of being there when her mother died. All of which led to her decision to leave.
M'Dahoma weighed in next on Etta and Otto and Russell and James and claimed that he found parts of the story confusing toward the conclusion, and unsatisfying. He also felt it was tragic that the titular characters of Etta and Otto were separated at the end of her life. Morgan countered with a poignant scene between those characters that served as a moving last moment between them.
Michelle Morgan and Shayla Stonechild on Canada Reads 2025
The debates moved on to a discussion of writing craft and skill in these works. Maggie Mac Neil enjoyed the writing on display in Dandelion, and the first person narrative that drew the reader into the story, along with the visuals and images in A Two Spirit Journey. Linwood Barclay had his issues with Etta and Otto and Russell and James, but thought that some of the best writing in the novel had an affecting ethereal quality, and liked the direct style in Dandelion. He didn't think that the writing in A Two-Spirit Journey was very artful, but that it suited the style of work. Shayla Stonechild agreed that this wasn't the approach, and reminded viewers and listeners that the author co-wrote the book with Mary Louisa Plummer, and that this is a collaborative work that reflects Indigenous practices and offers a different kind of storytelling approach.
Michelle Morgan agreed the the academic approach by the co-author of the book lets it down in terms of drawing readers into the Ma-Nee Chacaby's story, even though the content was the most important and essential. This prompted Stonechild to suggest the audiobook for those who want to almost be in the conversation with the subject of this work. Saïd M'Dahoma praised Etta and Otto and Russell and James for the representation of the characters in the novel, and for bringing him into the mind of Etta.
There were further conversations about which work took the panelists on the most impactful journey. Barclay talked about the characters in these books, with a question about whether the magical realist approach in Etta and Otto and Russell and James got in the way of the depictions of the characters in the story. Morgan felt that the exposition in Dandelion took her out of the main journey in the novel. The stakes in Etta and Otto and Russell and James weren't high enough at times for Stonechild, and she wasn't sure about the motives of Etta as the events of the novel unfolded.
When it came to question about which which book brought a meaningful and fresh depiction of love, it seemed that the unconditional love and endurance shown in A Two Spirit Journey came to the fore, which other titles in the competition showed complicated moments of love, the absence of it, and what it means to long for love.
The closing arguments were then given, and the time came for the big vote, which went as follows:
Michelle Morgan voted against Dandelion
Shayla Stonechild voted against Etta and Otto and Russell and James
Saïd M'Dahoma voted against A Two Spirit Journey
Linwood Barclay voted against Dandelion
Maggie Mac Neil voted against Etta and Otto and Russell and James
This led to a tie, where the panelist who did not vote for the either book, in this case it was M'Dahoma, who voted to keep his title in the running.
After the votes were tallied, Etta and Otto and Russell and James was eliminated on day two of Canada Reads.
Ali Hassan and Linwood Barclay on Canada Reads 2025
We moved into the final day of Canada Reads 2025 earlier today, and the debates and discussions continued. With only two books remaining, and all five panelists in the mix to decide which book would be the winner.
In setting up the final debates, Shayla Stonechild championed A Two Spirit Journey as more than just an autobiography, but a living story and act of resilience and truth-telling. The book challenges and transforms readers with its accounts of Ma-Nee Chacaby's journey, and a spirit that is relatable to all Canadians.
Saïd M'Dahoma thought that a win for Dandelion would be a win for immigrants everywhere, especially at a time when so many were at risk all over the world, and that it was a book he wished he had read growing up.
Each champion was then tasked with laying out the reasons why the other panelists should vote against the competing title. Stonechild found it a difficult challenge, as she did really respect Dandelion and the story told in the novel, but thought that it depicted a passive way of transformation compared to the active transformation in A Two Spirit Journey. She thought that Dandelion would not engage readers in the same way, had little in it that would serve as a call-to-action, and that her book offered clear pathways forward in cultural and social terms.
Linwood Barclay was first to weigh-in, and found that he learned from both books, each sharing a different approach to dealing with the loss and trauma in their subjects' lives. Maggie Mac Neil did not find Dandelion as memorable as A Two Spirit Journey. Michelle Morgan disagreed with the criticisms of Dandelion about the intersectionality in the novel, but also challenged M'Dahoma to share his thoughts on why readers would want to read this novel, other than the weight of the content. He called it a "real, Canadian book" that shows the beauty of the country through the characters' eyes, and claimed that it was an accessible book in which immigrants would recognize themselves, and one that non-immigrants would empathize with.
Saïd M'Dahoma was asked to give his reasons why the other panelists should not be swayed toward A Two Spirit Journey. He loved the book and what it stood for, but felt that the style was an issue, and that it was laid out too matter-of-factly without digging more deeply into the feelings of the subjects. Most of the characters were passersby in the book, according to M'Dahoma, and did not have the depth he wanted. He also felt that fictionalized accounts of trauma and the way that Dandelion dealt with these subjects gave the reader a moment to breathe, unlike the more academic, non-fictional approach from A Two Spirit Journey.
Maggie Mac Neil also wanted to dig deeper in the A Two Spirit Journey, and thought that the co-author of the novel who compiled the text could have found more between the lines. Linwood Barclay talked about the different forms of the works, and said that, while Dandelion was a novel, A Two Spirit Journey was a document. He called it a tough read with not a lot of craft, but extolled the value of the book in our society and culture. Michelle Morgan echoed both of those takes, but also called it one of the most powerful, unflinching tales she had ever heard. Shayla Stonechild replied by sharing what she learned from the memoir, and talked about how discovering more about the histories of Indigenous people before her, and those who helped Ma-Nee Chacaby along the way, truly changed her.
Saïd M'Dahoma on Canada Reads 2025
The final discussion topic was the exploration of home, and what that meant in either work. Michelle Morgan noted that Dandelion was very much concerned with the question of what home really is, and the book's champion Saïd M'Dahoma spoke about his own experiences in France and in Canada, and how he has identified with national identity and feelings of not being considered "enough" for a certain culture, or authentically of a culture or nation. The way that the characters created their own idea of home, especially with food, resonating with him deeply.
Linwood Barclay felt that the story told in A Two-Spirit Journey was more impactful in that the subject didn't have a stable home and the absence of it was palpable. Stonechild talked about this lack of security and safety, and sense of home, and how Ma-Nee Chacaby opened up her own home to others in need, even when she didn't even feel safe in her own life and even her own body. Maggie Mac Neil then reflected on these points by claiming that family is home to her, and that the choice to abandon family for home in Dandelion contrasted with the way that Ma-Nee welcomed people into her home throughout A Two-Spirit Journey, no matter where her travels and her life took her.
The last word on the topic came from M'Dahoma, as he talked about the way that the mother in Dandelion did not realize the mistakes she was making, and that the hard lesson is to realize home is not where you think you are supposed to be, but where your family is.
There was another quick round where the panelists mostly agreed that A Two Spirit Journey best represented the complicated connections between people. Stonechild thought that the vulnerability shown by Ma-Nee Chacaby and the truths she told in her memoir would be challenging and upsetting to readers, but will lead them on a path toward healing. Whereas M'Dahoma shared his thoughts about the importance depiction of disconnection between family members in Dandelion, and Mac Neil found that book easier to connect with.
This led to the final arguments for each work from the champions, and the final vote for the winner of Canada Reads:
Shayla Stonechild voted against Dandelion
Saïd M'Dahoma voted against A Two-Spirit Journey
Linwood Barclay voted against Dandelion
Maggie Mac Neil voted against A Two-Spirit Journey
Michelle Morgan voted against Dandelion
After the votes were tallied, Dandelion was eliminated from Canada Reads 2025. And A Two-Spirit Journey was named winner!
Ma-Nee Chacaby, author of A Two Spirit Journey
That wraps up our coverage of the 2025 edition of CBC Canada reads. Thank you for checking out our coverage this week. Congratulations to the winner of the competition, Shayla Stonechild, who championed A Two Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby (with Mary Louisa Plummer)!
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Below, we have reminder of the full shortlist of books that were up for the coveted Canada Reads title when the week began, with those that were eliminated tagged accordingly:
