Probably Ruby

Indigenous adoption and family separation. Bird-Wilson's writing is at times poetic and ever compelling. We are fortunate to have her and Ruby among us." The Washington Post

"A searing fictional portrait of intergenerational trauma, embodied by the unforgettable Ruby and her search for her Indigenous kin. . . . This is a heartbreaking and revelatory work about the meaning of family, and the pain we pass through generations, as inescapable as blood." Maclean's

"Sprawling. . . . An intimate and nuanced illumination of Ruby as a woman surviving in the face of painful family history, colonialism and patriarchy. Tender, funny and brimming with the desire to love and be loved, Probably Ruby is a moving narrative about Indigenous identity and belonging." Electric Literature

"Moving. . . . Each chapter is vivid and contains a satisfying resolution. . . . Readers will be carried along by Ruby's vitality and perseverance. This is well worth a look." Publishers Weekly

"A bighearted portrait of an Indigenous woman whose transracial adoption spurs a lifelong quest to discover or perhaps create her identity. . . . An unsparing exploration of the injustices wrought by misogyny and settler colonialism." Kirkus Reviews

"Probably Ruby is a brave and beautiful book about an adopted woman's search for her Indigenous identity." Daily Hive

"Brilliant. . . . Lisa is an extraordinary stylist, and this novel explores Indigenous women's lives in a way that is empowering and that doesn't follow the usual tropes of trauma and victimization. I think of her as a Michif Alice Munro." Warren Cariou

"Writing from the depths of her heart, Lisa Bird-Wilson has gifted us a passionate exploration of identity and belonging and a celebration of our universal desire to love and be loved." Imbolo Mbue, author of Behold the Dreamers and How Beautiful We Were

"In this time of crises and isolation, I ve come to cherish Probably Ruby. It details legacies of struggle without giving in to spectacle. It illuminates, in language of deepest care and artistic exactness, the diverse relations and irreducible complexity of an unforgettable life. Lisa Bird-Wilson is someone I urge you to read." David Chariandy, author of Brother and I've Been Meaning to Tell You

"Lisa Bird-Wilson holds all her characters with such compassion, even when they go spectacularly off-course, they remain sympathetic in this wildly electric novel. Each fragment builds a provocative mosaic, refusing easy redemption, embracing Ruby's complex, volatile emotional landscape with masterstrokes of observation and insight." Eden Robinson, author of the Trickster Trilogy

"Soft as it is hard, Probably Ruby reminds us how displacement comes to be commonplace in the lives of some. Never before have I seen a writer represent the constellation of people impacted by this kind of fractured kinship with such righteous critique that is at once restrained and nuanced. Each member of Ruby's web of people is shaped with care, empathy, and grace even the most unforgivable ones. Simply put, Probably Ruby is one of the very best things I ve ever read about adoption, race, and want." Jenny Heijun Wills, author of Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related.

"Probably Ruby reminds us that our stories are acts of survival. That 'it's not so much a question of what [we] inherit but what [we] do with it.' That grief, too, can be a gift. Written in prose to be savored, Bird-Wilson's novel and its heroine will stay with me for a long time." Kelli Jo Ford, author of Crooked Hallelujah

"In Probably Ruby, Lisa Bird-Wilson takes us along on a woman's deeply poignant journey in search of self, identity and the reclaiming of an Indigenous heritage that has been taken from her. In Ruby's story, we see the powerful threads of family in one's life that can shape, even from afar. This story will stay with you." Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, author of Sarong Party Girls