In Probably Ruby by Lisa Bird-Wilson, Saskatchewan Métis and nêhiyaw writer, Ruby is relinquished as an infant and placed in a foster home and finally adopted by Alice and Mel, a less-than-desirable couple. They can’t afford to complain too loudly about Ruby’s Indigenous roots but when her new parents’ marriage falls apart, Ruby finds herself vulnerable and in compromising situations that lead her to search, in the unlikeliest of places, for her Indigenous identity. Unabashedly self-destructing on alcohol, drugs and bad relationships, Ruby grapples with the meaning of the legacy left to her. In a series of expanding narratives, Ruby and the people connected to her tell their stories and help flesh out Ruby’s history. Seeking understanding of how we come to know who we are, Probably Ruby explores how we find and invent ourselves in ways as peculiar and varied as the experiences of Indigenous adoptees themselves. Ruby’s voice, her devastating honesty and tremendous laugh, will not soon be forgotten. Probably Ruby is a perfectly crafted novel, with effortless, nearly imperceptible shifts in time and perspective, exquisitely chosen detail, natural dialogue and emotional control that results in breathtaking levels of tension and points of revelation. Finalist for the 2022 Governor General's Literary Award for fiction.
