5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: history, North American history, Canadian history, Indigenous history, nonfiction

This review has been posted to Goodreads as of 7/9, my review blog as of 7/10, and to Instagram as of 7/12.

This is another one of those books that's difficult to read at times but so important. I'm from the US, so I'm more aware of the history of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop in the US vs. Canada, but I still found this to be an important read, and moreover, it's an approachable read. Talaga assumes surface-level knowledge from her reader, but nothing too deep, which leaves room for her to explain many of the facts and nuances of colonization and residential schools in Canada.

Talaga weaves 'straight' history and memoir in this book, in a way that's very well done and really illustrates how little of history really is 'just facts.' How do you nominalize someone's life? Someone's family's experiences? Annie and the Carpenters were just as much a part of historical events as the white people telling the story. In many ways, I would argue memoir is the best vessel for retelling history, especially in cases like these, because you can read a traditional history nonfiction book and be told "X happened and then Y happened, and it was because of Z" and maybe you'll even get "and it had A, B, and C repercussions," though most likely not, and that will tell you things about history but it won't really give you the whole scope of it. It won't tell you what really happened or how it felt or how it's impacts are still reverberating today. But memoir does. And in the end, isn't it people's experiences that make up history?

Throughout this book Talaga weaves us through several different stories. She begins with the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Le Estcwicwéy', or the 215 kids who were discovered buried at the Kamloops Residential School. She then leads us down the path of looking for Annie, her great-great grandmother, stopping at times to intersperse 'present day' moments of discovery and connection into the story. We learn about the terrible record keeping of the early (and current) Canadian government, we learn about the residential schools and day schools, we learn about Indian Hospitals and asylums, and we learn about the large family Annie was born into and birthed herself, and the many children who went missing along the way.

It is impossible not to feel the tragedy of the story. But there's also hope too. Because Talaga found Annie. Despite the bad and faulty record keeping, despite the difficulty of genocide and silence, Talaga was able to find Annie and bring her back into the fold of the family. Along the way, she also discovered a couple of cousins she didn't know about, and was able to track much of her family through colonial history, recognizing and honoring them as she did so. It was astonishing at times how much Talaga was able to uncover.

All that being said, the book was repetitive at times. Talaga was telling a story throughout much of the book, but at times would repeat parts we had already read about. I don't mind minor repetition, but there were definitely times when whole chunks would be repeated even though we had just come across them a chapter or two ago. If these parts are truly needed to move the story along, then I think these parts could be tightened up into a line or two, but otherwise I don't think the repetition is necessary.

Overall, an important story that combines memoir and historical fact to tremendous effect.

This is a difficult book for me to review. It’s part narrative nonfiction covering the history of indigenous people in Canada, with a focus on residential schools. And it’s part memoir, in which the author traces her genealogy back to her great-great-grandmother (and beyond), who had disappeared. The mix didn’t work well for me.

I loved the journalism aspects, which discussed the changes when white Europeans began encroaching on, then outright taking, indigenous land, the effects of this on families and their culture, and the start of residential schools.

The author’s personal story of her chasing down her genealogy and lost ancestors was too detailed for me. We have LOTS of names, and a large family tree with branches shooting off every which way. We’re given all the minutiae of the author’s search, as she struggles with abysmal record keeping and roadblocks at seemingly every turn. If you’re part of this family tree or if you are fascinated by genealogy, then you’ll likely love this aspect. But I needed the condensed version.

Overall, the scope of the story felt too broad, resulting in a choppiness that prevented me from staying invested.

*Thanks to Hanover Square Press (#HiveInfluencer) for the free eARC, provided via NetGalley.*

A must read for everyone. I loved Talaga's compelling story telling on several difficult topics in this one. Talaga weaves in Canada's history of residential schools, the Vatican and stolen Indigenous artifacts and difficulty of finding information on loved ones. This was a tough read, but a very important one.

“We all know people that never came home from residential schools.” Sadly this is a story of many first nations peoples. Records were destroyed, histories rewritten, memories lost.
The words are lyrical and flow beautifully. The relationship the author writes about with the lands is just amazing. It’s so easy to fall into this story and feel all the moments as this author struggled to find her family and the history around them. This history is horrible, ugly, sickening and heartbreaking but we must know so that it is never repeated. The way it’s written makes it very readable, with beautiful words calming the burn inflicted on our fellow humans and land.
I recommend this book to all, the lessons learned in her search are ones we all need to learn and understand.

While the news of Indigenous children dying at residential schools in North America in the 19th and 20th centuries has only relatively recently been widely reported, it is something that their communities have known the whole time. The Knowing: How the Oppression of Indigenous Peoples Continues to Echo Today takes on the subject of the residential schools in Canada and shows how it was part of a larger effort by colonizers to oppress and erase First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people. The author is a journalist with a long history of writing about Canada's Indigenous peoples and is herself Indigenous. Woven throughout her exploration of the residential school system is a memoir of sorts; part of her impetus for writing the book was trying to figure out what had happened to her great-grandmother, who was essentially imprisoned and died in a psychiatric hospital. This is a difficult book to read. It doesn't hold back in detailing the cruelty in ripping children from their families and communities to place them in residential schools where they faced substandard living conditions, frequent spread of illness and disease, and often starvation. And that is to say nothing of the physical, sexual, and emotional abuse often inflicted upon them. While the book focuses on Canada, it's clear that the residential school system in the United States was no different and, in some cases, even influenced its neighbor to the north. Nothing can undo the harm that was done, but I believe in learning about it, we can show our respect for those who have been lost.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Hanover Square Press for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in return for an honest review. This book will be published July 15, 2025.

This nonfiction book follows the journey of Tanya, as she tried to figure out what happened to her great-great grandmother, Annie. She searches for information on her, and uncovers quite a bit on relatives she never knew about. And while this is the journey that keeps the whole narrative together, the crux of this book is the horrific practices of the church and country of Canada against Indigenous people groups.

Tanya’s meticulously crafted narrative takes us to the past, and how missionaries started migrating to Canada under the guise of “civilizing” the “savages”. And if you are familiar with American history, you’ll know that that involved ripping children away from their parents to education the “Indian out of them”. But what took place was abuse-in many forms-and children disappearing. Tanya lays out the heartbreaking information in clear, concise descriptions through her research and discoveries.

She also makes clear that it was an arduous process, as Canada kept poor records of what happened at the residential schools, and the families-as they signed treaties and were deemed either Indigenous or not. Yes, Indigenous peoples had to prove they were, indeed, Indigenous. If they married someone not Indigenous, that disqualified them from being Indigenous, and receiving a stipend from the government in regard to a treaty-if the was one.

The cruel irony-Not being Indigenous enough for an honored contract, but Indigenous to have your children ripped away. And abused, and neglected, and killed, and buried-all without any of the parents having any clue. Tanya provides damning evidence to prove the horrid practices on these schools happened with the full knowledge of the church, and government, and it was swept under the rug. This all hits home for the author as she finds out that her family members dealt with the cruelty at these residential schools. And despite it being 2025, the Indigenous peoples of Canada are still waiting for a wrong to be made right. Baby steps are a long way from wholeness for the people groups of Canada who have been so terribly brutalized.

This book will weigh on your soul, but is a necessary read. We must read about injustice and history because it matters.

If you're looking for a jumping-off point to learn about the tragedy of Canada's Residential School system and the impact that it had on Indigenous people, this is a great place to start. Talaga's book is well researched and balances personal stories with history. She manages to tell a long and traumatic story in a way that mostly feels easy to follow and streamlined. There are some points that seem to be repeated, and don't come across as being impactful so much as repetitive.

I personally had to switch over to a reader to complete it but that is a me issue.

There is a lot going on in Tanya Talaga's The Knowing. Unfortunately, I think there is too much going on. This book follows multiple stories but is somewhat centered on the author's search for more information on her great-great grandmother Annie. There is some memoir, some history, and some journalism all mixed together which is where the problems start.

I should take a moment to point out that I am a stickler for genres and some overarching rules about them which are not globally agreed upon. For example, when I am reading a story by a journalist or historian, I expect the author to be able to back everything up with facts and viewpoints from solid primary sources. The author's perception of events should be minimized as much as possible. To use an old adage, "just the facts." On the other hand, for a memoir, I am much more open to interpretation, faulty memories, and the unleashing of feelings with colorful and sometimes over the top language. For the rest of this review, please keep this in mind. If you aren't bothered by some genre blending, then you may wholeheartedly disagree with me.

The mixing of the genres is my problem with the overall narrative. Talaga the journalist/historian presents some enraging and heartbreaking statistics. When she is in journalism/historian mode, the sheer injustice of what was done to the Indigenous people of the text. Talaga doesn't even need to explain many of these numbers, such as the percent of children in the foster care system who are Indigenous. Admittedly, some historical sections seem misplaced, but if the book was just this then I'd have enjoyed it much more.

Unfortunately, dropping memoir sections in here causes a myriad of problems. First, Talaga the memoirist will make sweeping pronouncements which are not based in facts and are pure conjecture or even excessive exaggeration. Second, the tonal whiplash means you never know what style you are getting from page to page. Again, if the book were entirely memoir, I could have gotten on board. She has a visceral and righteous anger that she vents in these sections, and they would hit home much better the narrative didn't quickly switch to a history of Canada with far flung and tenuous connections to her family.

There is a tremendous amount of important information and excellent work by Talaga within this book. The mixture of too many ideas ultimately sinks the overall narrative, though.

(This book was provided an an advance reader copy by NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing.)

The Knowing by Tanya Talaga is a deeply moving and meticulously researched work that powerfully counters residential school denialism. Centered on Annie’s story, it’s both heartbreaking and urgent, showcasing Talaga at her finest. A must-read for all Canadians, it captures a truth that demands to be heard.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!