The 2023 TMU Alumni Book List

Harlem Sunset

Author: Nekesa Afia (external link, opens in new window) , Journalism ’17

Release: June 2022

The second book in Nekesa Afia’s historical mystery series, Harlem Sunset features Louise Lloyd, a young Black woman working in a hot new speakeasy who gets caught up in a murder that hits too close to home. Named to PEOPLE Magazine’s 2022 Best Books to Read this Summer (external link, opens in new window)  list.

Finding Edward

Author: Sheila Murray, Master of Immigration and Settlement ’10

Release: June 2022

Cyril Rowntree migrates to Toronto from Jamaica in 2012. A chance encounter with a panhandler named Patricia leads Cyril to a suitcase full of photographs and letters dating back to the early 1920s. Cyril is drawn into the letters and their story of a white mother’s struggle with the need to give up her mixed-race baby, Edward. Abandoned by his own white father as a small child, Cyril’s keen intuition triggers a strong connection and he begins to look for the rest of Edward’s story. As he searches, Cyril unearths fragments of Edward’s itinerant life as he crisscrossed the country. Along the way, Cyril discovers hidden pieces of Canada’s Black history and gains the confidence to take on his new world.

Capitalist Buddha: Waking Up to Conscious Economics

Author: Dr. Jeffrey Overall, Business Management ’09, and Rhiannon Rosalind (external link, opens in new window) , Arts and Contemporary Studies, ’08

Release: July 2022

If Buddha was a business leader, what kind of organization would he run? Can profitability work in harmony with people and the planet? Can the quest for personal enlightenment transform our economy? In Capitalist Buddha, Dr. Jeffrey Overall and Rhiannon Rosalind explore how expanding human consciousness can transform the way we do business and create a happier, healthier and more sustainable world.

Sideways — The City Google Couldn’t Buy

Author: Josh O’Kane (external link, opens in new window) , Master of Journalism ’12

Release: September 2022

Josh O’Kane revealed countless controversies while following the Sidewalk Labs fiasco in Toronto as a Globe and Mail tech reporter. His book, Sideways — The City Google Couldn’t Buy, is an uncompromising investigation into the bigger story and what the Google sister company’s failure there reveals about Big Tech, data privacy and the monetization of everything.

Outside the Gate: The True Story of a British Home Child in Canada

Author: Carol Newall (external link, opens in new window) , Business Management ’67

Release: September 2022

Between 1869 and 1948, Britain sent more than 100,000 “home children” to Canada to work as indentured farmers and domestics. Outside the Gate is a revealing portrayal of a troubling chapter in Canadian and British history. Carol Newall shares a family saga of love and loss, pain and joy, as her grandmother, Winnie, struggled to find her place in a young, inhospitable country.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Dumplings

Contributors: Dr. Cheryl Thompson (external link, opens in new window) , MA Communication and Culture ’07, and Michal Stein, (external link, opens in new window)  Master of Journalism ’19

Release: October 2022

In this unique anthology, food writers, journalists, culinary historians and musicians share histories of their culture’s version of the dumpling, family dumpling lore, interesting encounters with these little delights and even recipes to unwrap the magic of the world’s favourite dish.

Racist, Not Racist, Anti-Racist: Language and the Dynamic Disaster of American Racism

Authors: Leland Royce Harper (external link, opens in new window) , Master of Philosophy ’12, and Jennifer Kling

Release: October 2022

In their new book, authors Leland Harper and Jennifer Kling explore situations ordinarily categorized as either racist or not racist (or, in other cases, as anti-racist), while demonstrating how expanding our racial vocabulary is crucial for the attainment of justice equally enjoyed by all.

In the Key of Dale

Author: Benjamin Lefebvre (external link, opens in new window) , Publishing ’15

Release: October 2022

Fans of the Netflix series Heartstopper will love this disarming coming-of-age novel about a queer teen music prodigy who discovers pieces of himself in places he never thought to look. In the Key of Dale is a beguiling, pitch-perfect book about growing up, fitting in, and finding a way out of grief and loneliness toward the melodic light of adulthood.

No Bootstraps When You’re Barefoot

Author: Wes Hall (external link) , Honorary Doctor of Laws ’22

Release: October 2022 

From one of Canada’s most successful business leaders, the founder of the BlackNorth Initiative and the newest and first Black Dragon in the Dragon’s Den comes a rags-to-riches story that also carries a profound message of hope and change.

Home Safe: A Memoir of End-of-Life Care During COVID-19

Author: Mitchell Consky (external link, opens in new window) , Master of Journalism ’20

Release: November 2022

In April 2020, Mitchell Consky received bad news: his father was diagnosed with a rare and terminal cancer and had less than two months to live. Leaning into his journalistic intuitions, Consky interviewed his father daily, making audio recordings of final talks, emotional goodbyes and the unexpected laughter that filled his father’s final days. Serving as a catalyst for fatherly affection, these interviews became an opportunity for emotional confession during the slowed-down time of a shuttered world, and reflect how far a family went in making a dying loved one feel safe at home.

Finding Your Stars: A children’s book about nurturing our strengths and accepting our fears

Author: Carolyn Morris (external link) , Master of Journalism ’09

Release: November 2022

Join pals Star and Cloud as they explore a “curious trick” to navigating the emotional ups and downs of life. Finding Your Stars is a beautifully illustrated children’s book that encourages children — and their adults — to identify and nurture their strengths and talents, while also accepting their fears and difficult emotions.

A World of Curiosities: A Novel

Author: Louise Penny (external link) , Radio and Television Arts ’79

Release: November 2022

It’s spring and Three Pines is reemerging after the harsh winter. But not everything buried should come alive again. Not everything lying dormant should re-emerge. But something has. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns in the eighteenth book in #1 New York Times bestseller Louise Penny’s beloved series.

The Story of Us

Author: Catherine Hernandez (external link, opens in new window) , Theatre Performance ’99

Release: February 2023

In her new novel, Catherine Hernandez writes about the unbreakable bond of family and the magic that can happen when we meet in the middle. Beautifully narrated by the all-seeing eye of Mary Grace’s newborn baby, The Story of Us is a novel about sisterhood, about blood and chosen family, and about how belonging can be found where we least expect it.

Is the Algorithm Plotting Against Us?

Author: Kenneth Wenger (external link, opens in new window) , Master of Computer Science ’21

Release: March 2023

Artificial intelligence (AI) expert Kenneth Wenger explains the complexity at AI’s heart, demonstrating its potential and exposing its shortfalls. Wenger empowers readers to answer the question — What exactly is AI? — at a time when its hold on tech, society and our imagination is only getting stronger.

Old Babes in the Woods

Author: Margaret Atwood (external link, opens in new window) , Honorary Doctor of Letters ’12

Release: March 2023

Returning to short fiction for the first time since her 2014 collection Stone Mattress, Margaret Atwood showcases both her creativity and her humanity in 15 remarkable tales which by turns delight, illuminate and quietly devastate.

Chrysalis

Author: Anuja Varghese (external link, opens in new window) , Nonprofit and Volunteer Management ’19

Release: March 2023

The stories in Chrysalis, Anuja Varghese’s debut collection, are by turns poignant and chilling, blurring the lines between the real world and worlds beyond. Varghese delves fearlessly into complex intersections of family, community, sexuality and cultural expectation, taking aim at the ways in which racialized women are robbed of power and revelling in the strange and dangerous journeys they undertake to reclaim it.

Do You Know Who Killed Me

Author: Sara Furlong, Radio and Television Arts ’06

Release: March 2022

Nicola has a great life with one small problem: her new home is very old and very haunted. At first, she can ignore the strange happenings, but Nicola realizes she isn’t alone. Through a séance that works too well, Nicola is pulled back in time and it’s up to Nicola and her friends to get her home before it’s too late.

If We Caught Fire

Author: Beth Ryan, Journalism ’91

Release: April 2023

Edie’s calm and contained life is knocked awry when her mother decides to marry a man she met online after just a few months of dating. If We Caught Fire brings two families together for a wedding in St. John’s, an event that sets off a summer of fireworks in the lives of the people around them.

Two For the Road

Author: Chantel Guertin, Journalism ’00

Release: March 2023

A tender, funny and wise new novel about a romance bookshop owner who embarks on the adventure — or misadventure — of a lifetime in search of her own happily ever after. With heart and charm, warmth and humour, Chantel Guertin explores the meaning of love and family— and how, sometimes, the journey to yourself is where you’ll find everything you’ve been searching for.

African Studies

Author: Edward Burtynsky (external link, opens in new window) , Image Arts ’82

Release: April 2023

While chronicling the major themes of terraforming and extraction, urbanization and deforestation, African Studies conveys the unsettling reality of sweeping resource depletion on both a human and industrial scale. This project brings together the work of seven years, presenting the latest installment in Edward Burtynsky’s ongoing œuvre.

A History of Burning

Author: Janika Oza (external link) , Master of Immigration and Settlement Studies ’19

Release: May 2023

An exhilarating and profoundly moving debut novel spanning India, Uganda, England and Canada, about how one act of survival reverberates across four generations of a family and their search for a place of their own. A History of Burning has been named a most anticipated book of 2023 by the Toronto Star (external link, opens in new window) , the Globe and Mail, Oprah Daily and Goodreads (external link, opens in new window) .

Meet Me at the Lake

Author: Carley Fortune (external link, opens in new window) , Journalism ’06

Release: May 2023

Bestselling author Carley Fortune returns with her second novel, just in time to add it to your summer reading list! In Meet Me at the Lake, a random connection sends two strangers on a daylong adventure where they make a promise one keeps and the other breaks, with life-changing effects.

The Paris Deception

Author: Bryn Turnbull (external link, opens in new window) , Master of Professional Communication ’12

Release: May 2023

From internationally bestselling author Bryn Turnbull comes The Paris Deception, a breathtaking novel about art theft and forgery in Nazi-occupied Paris, and two brave women who risk their lives rescuing looted masterpieces from Nazi destruction.

Bragging Rights: How to Talk About Your Work Using Purposeful Self-Promotion

Author: Lisa Bragg (external link, opens in new window) , Journalism ’97

Release: May 2023

In Bragging Rights, acclaimed speaker and advisor Lisa Bragg shows you how to get comfortable with sharing your strengths. Drawing on proprietary research, consultations with high-performing leaders, and her own rich experiences as a journalist and entrepreneur, Bragg examines why so many people are afraid to speak up about their work, illuminates why bragging is a catalyst of positive change, and offers practical advice on embracing and applying the art of authentic self-promotion.

Reach: Hard Lessons and Learned Truths from a Lifetime in Television

Author: Arthur Smith (external link, opens in new window) , Radio and Television Arts ’82

Release: June 2023

Industry veteran and a pioneer in nonfiction television, Arthur Smith shares adventures, triumphs and hard-won lessons from his astonishing career, beginning with his unprecedented ascension from the ranks of sports production to becoming the youngest-ever head of CBC Sports.

The Family Code

Author: Wayne Ng (external link, opens in new window) , Social Work ’88

Release: June 2023

The Family Code is a gritty family drama featuring the troubled life of Hannah Belenko, a young woman and single mother dogged by the brutality of past traumas and a code of silence that she must crack in order to be free — or else lose everything.

Sunshine Nails

Author: Mai Nguyen, Journalism ’10

Release: July 2023

A tender and funny debut about a Vietnamese Canadian family who will do whatever it takes to keep their no-frills nail salon afloat after a multimillion-dollar chain opens across the street. Full of memorable manicures and even more memorable characters, Sunshine Nails is a humorous and heartfelt novel about family, resilience, and what it means to start over.

Adventures in the Radio Trade: A Memoir

Author: Joe Mahoney, Radio and Television Arts ’87

Release: August 2023

Adventures in the Radio Trade documents a life in radio, largely at Canada's public broadcaster. It's for people who love CBC Radio, those interested in the history of Canadian broadcasting, and for those who want to hear about close encounters with numerous luminaries such as Margaret Atwood, J. Michael Straczynski, Stuart McLean, Joni Mitchell, Peter Gzowski and more.

Nursing Wisely

Author: Mary Ghazarian, Master of Nursing ’16

Release: August 2023

Feeling stuck in your nursing career or unsure about your next move? Mary Ghazarian, a seasoned nurse psychotherapist, career coach, and entrepreneur, guides you through a series of introspective exercises designed to help you align your professional path with your true passions and aspirations. Nursing Wisely empowers you to thrive, while still embracing the core values of nursing.

Three Holidays and a Wedding

Authors: Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley (external link, opens in new window) , Journalism ’03

Release: September 2023

From two bestselling Canadian authors comes a multi-faith holiday rom-com about the delightful havoc that occurs when Christmas, Ramadan and Hanukkah all fall at the same time, and two strangers-turned-friends are snowbound in the small, charming town of Snow Falls along with the cast and crew of a holiday romance movie, nosy family members and their lifelong crushes.

Reuniting Strangers: A Novel

Author: Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio, Masters in Immigration and Settlement Studies ’08

Release: September 2023

Inspired by the work of Souvankham Thammavongsa, Catherine Hernandez (Theatre Performance ’99)  and Wayson Choy, this unforgettable novel follows the reunification of Filipino caregiver families over one Canadian winter—and the mysterious progress of Monolith, who appears and disappears in their lives.

People You Know, Places You’ve Been

Author: Hana Shafi (external link, opens in new window) , Journalism ’15

Release: October 2023

The latest poetry/artwork collection from Hana Shafi celebrates unlikely connections we make to the people and places we encounter. People You Know, Places You’ve Been is an insightful, charming collection that offers a sense of shared recognition and nostalgia, ultimately asking: what if seemingly mundane places are actually the foundations of who you are?

Moon of the Turning Leaves

Author: Waubgeshig Rice (external link, opens in new window) , Journalism ’02

Release: October 2023

Set over a decade after a mysterious cataclysm caused a permanent blackout that toppled infrastructure and thrust the world into anarchy, Waubgeshig Rice returns to the world first explored in the phenomenal breakout bestseller Moon of the Crusted Snow: a brooding story of survival, resilience, Indigenous identity, and rebirth.

It Happened One Christmas

Author: Chantel Guertin (external link, opens in new window) , Journalism ’00

Release: October 2023

It Happened One Christmas is a charming and rollicking holiday rom-com about a big-city film director who must convince the dreamy, yet grumpy, mayor of a small town to give her the permit to shoot her Christmas movie in his idyllic hometown. 

The Haunting of Adrien Hayes

Author: Markus Harwood-Jones (external link, opens in new window) , Sociology ’17

Release: October 2023

Adrian’s best friend and his boyfriend don’t get along. Oh, and his boyfriend is a ghost. Adrian Yates expected his summer would involve sharing Slurpees with his best friend Zoomer and pretending not to hear his dads’ whispered fighting. That’s exactly how it was going, until the night Sorel appeared in the graveyard by Adrian’s apartment. Zoomer’s worried he might be hiding something. Despite the warning signs, Adrian is certain he has everything under control—until suddenly he finds himself fighting for his life.

Re-humanize: Second Edition

Author: Marlee Liss (external link, opens in new window) , Child and Youth Care ’17, Social Work ’23

Release: November 2023

In this second edition, Re-Humanize offers a window into sexual assault and the messy path of survival. With poems that began forming just hours after being raped, Marlee shares her journey of emotional processing alongside facilitated discussion questions.

How Canada Works

Author: Peter Mansbridge (external link, opens in new window) , Honorary Doctorate, Doctor of Journalism ’05

Release: November 2023

From #1 bestselling authors Peter Mansbridge and Mark Bulgutch comes a new book of first-person stories about the unique people and professions that make Canada work.

In this latest collection of personal stories, Peter Mansbridge and former CBC producer Mark Bulgutch shine a light on the everyday jobs that keep our nation running and the inspiring people who perform them with empathy and kindness.

NaMOOste

Author: Marlee Kostiner, Journalism ’11

Release: November 2023

Transitioning children from energetic movement during their day to a calm state before bedtime can be a tricky process.This playful picture book uses yoga to facilitate a mindful state as well as foster resilience, self-confidence, self-care and self-regulation as important life skills.