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Book of Lives
How does one of the greatest storytellers of our time write her own life? The long-awaited memoir from one of our most lauded and influential cultural figures
‘Every writer is at least two the one who lives, and the one who writes. Though everything written must have passed through their minds, or mind, they are not the same.’
Raised by ruggedly independent, scientifically minded parents – entomologist father, dietician mother – Atwood spent most of each year in the wild forest of northern Quebec. This childhood was unfettered and nomadic, sometimes isolated (on her eighth 'It sounds forlorn. It was forlorn. It gets more forlorn.’), but also thrilling and beautiful.
From this unconventional start, Atwood unfolds the story of her life, linking seminal moments to the books that have shaped our literary landscape, from the cruel year that spawned Cat’s Eye to divided 1980s Berlin where she began The Handmaid’s Tale. In pages bursting with bohemian gatherings, her magical life with the wildly charismatic writer Graeme Gibson and major political turning points, we meet poets, bears, Hollywood actors and larger-than-life characters straight from the pages of an Atwood novel.
As we travel with her along the course of her life, more and more is revealed about her writing, the connections between real life and art – and the workings of one of our greatest imaginations.
‘Every writer is at least two the one who lives, and the one who writes. Though everything written must have passed through their minds, or mind, they are not the same.’
Raised by ruggedly independent, scientifically minded parents – entomologist father, dietician mother – Atwood spent most of each year in the wild forest of northern Quebec. This childhood was unfettered and nomadic, sometimes isolated (on her eighth 'It sounds forlorn. It was forlorn. It gets more forlorn.’), but also thrilling and beautiful.
From this unconventional start, Atwood unfolds the story of her life, linking seminal moments to the books that have shaped our literary landscape, from the cruel year that spawned Cat’s Eye to divided 1980s Berlin where she began The Handmaid’s Tale. In pages bursting with bohemian gatherings, her magical life with the wildly charismatic writer Graeme Gibson and major political turning points, we meet poets, bears, Hollywood actors and larger-than-life characters straight from the pages of an Atwood novel.
As we travel with her along the course of her life, more and more is revealed about her writing, the connections between real life and art – and the workings of one of our greatest imaginations.
612 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 4, 2025
About the author
Margaret Atwood
580 books93.6k followersMargaret Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa and grew up in northern Ontario, Quebec, and Toronto. She received her undergraduate degree from Victoria College at the University of Toronto and her master's degree from Radcliffe College.
Throughout her writing career, Margaret Atwood has received numerous awards and honourary degrees. She is the author of more than thirty-five volumes of poetry, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction and is perhaps best known for her novels, which include The Edible Woman (1970), The Handmaid's Tale (1983), The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000. Atwood's dystopic novel, Oryx and Crake, was published in 2003. The Tent (mini-fictions) and Moral Disorder (short stories) both appeared in 2006. Her most recent volume of poetry, The Door, was published in 2007. Her non-fiction book, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth in the Massey series, appeared in 2008, and her most recent novel, The Year of the Flood, in the autumn of 2009. Ms. Atwood's work has been published in more than forty languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian. In 2004 she co-invented the Long Pen TM.
Margaret Atwood currently lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.
Associations: Margaret Atwood was President of the Writers' Union of Canada from May 1981 to May 1982, and was President of International P.E.N., Canadian Centre (English Speaking) from 1984-1986. She and Graeme Gibson are the Joint Honourary Presidents of the Rare Bird Society within BirdLife International. Ms. Atwood is also a current Vice-President of PEN International.
Throughout her writing career, Margaret Atwood has received numerous awards and honourary degrees. She is the author of more than thirty-five volumes of poetry, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction and is perhaps best known for her novels, which include The Edible Woman (1970), The Handmaid's Tale (1983), The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000. Atwood's dystopic novel, Oryx and Crake, was published in 2003. The Tent (mini-fictions) and Moral Disorder (short stories) both appeared in 2006. Her most recent volume of poetry, The Door, was published in 2007. Her non-fiction book, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth in the Massey series, appeared in 2008, and her most recent novel, The Year of the Flood, in the autumn of 2009. Ms. Atwood's work has been published in more than forty languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian. In 2004 she co-invented the Long Pen TM.
Margaret Atwood currently lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.
Associations: Margaret Atwood was President of the Writers' Union of Canada from May 1981 to May 1982, and was President of International P.E.N., Canadian Centre (English Speaking) from 1984-1986. She and Graeme Gibson are the Joint Honourary Presidents of the Rare Bird Society within BirdLife International. Ms. Atwood is also a current Vice-President of PEN International.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,447 reviews
March 2, 2026
It feels overwhelming to write a review of this. Atwood is more impressive than I thought, and I am humbled. She played a key role in building the foundation of the Canadian literature business, which at the time she needed it was nonexistent. Atwood is all about community: in life as well as in story. It permeates all she does.
Atwood starts by saying that all writers write from a context, and that to understand that writer we must understand that context. She then expertly weaves her perspective of what was happening in the world, starting with girlhood just after WWII, into what was happening with her at that time and how she built it all into specific choice works. But at the same time she was writing novels, starting in the 1960s, she was working with a close group of motivated talent to help build a Canadian literary identity when there wasn’t one.
I was impacted by how unspoiled Margaret Atwood grew up, and how her industriousness at finding cheap places to live and being able to make do with their challenges helped her succeed. But she wasn’t unprivileged, her genius mind winning her a Woodrow Wilson fellowship to Harvard where she went on to attend the PhD program, and that explained to me why I was sometimes turned off in her work by the whiff of academic (I see you, Penelopiad).
And, of course, there’s Graham, the love and partner of her life, who takes up much of the book in the end. Perhaps too much for this reader, but I could forgive her that. Because here she laid out the blood and guts of her love and the pain of losing him, and this emotionally moving chunk gave balance to the intellectually stimulating first half.
If you’re a junkie for all kinds of information on the book world, you will be fed. But her memoir-of-sorts would serve best if you have a few of her works under your belt before reading this, as she does weave them into her history.
I was daunted by the length of this memoir, and as per my usual m.o. with nonfiction, I lined up the novels I’d read as I went. But I never wanted to read anything but this. The story captivated me.
Here are some tid-bits about her writing process:
On writing Handmaid’s Tale:
“On a page with a swan image at the top, I began to write. A woman was walking, looking down at her feet. Impossible red flowers were sprouting from a gravel path. Then there was a cellar, and another woman on her knees, blood streaming down her face.
‘What’s this then?’ I asked myself. ‘And who’s this?’
My novels often start this way—with a scene, and image, some words. The opening scene often moves elsewhere in the book: The Handmaid’s Tale began with the group hanging scene, but that part eventually shifted toward the back of the book.”
On writing Alias Grace:
“…I got a blinding headache, along with the realization that I had to discard much of what I’d written: it’s hard to have a duplicitous narrator in the third person, unless we take it as a given that the narrator—the author—is lying to us. But a first person narrator can lie, and conceal, and leave things out, and often does. When a story is being told, there’s always a listener, stated or implied; and there is always a reason why the story is being told to that listener.”
Atwood pays her respects to the poet part of her that grew alongside the novelist, sharing some of her poems in the memoir. She also shares doodles and drawings, making me feel there’s little she cannot do. But Atwood seems to take as much delight in making fun of herself while sharing her vulnerabilities as she does at sharing what she accomplished and what mattered to her.
Filled with too many great photos, a comic strip or two, and doodled end-papers to recommend the audio version.
Atwood starts by saying that all writers write from a context, and that to understand that writer we must understand that context. She then expertly weaves her perspective of what was happening in the world, starting with girlhood just after WWII, into what was happening with her at that time and how she built it all into specific choice works. But at the same time she was writing novels, starting in the 1960s, she was working with a close group of motivated talent to help build a Canadian literary identity when there wasn’t one.
I was impacted by how unspoiled Margaret Atwood grew up, and how her industriousness at finding cheap places to live and being able to make do with their challenges helped her succeed. But she wasn’t unprivileged, her genius mind winning her a Woodrow Wilson fellowship to Harvard where she went on to attend the PhD program, and that explained to me why I was sometimes turned off in her work by the whiff of academic (I see you, Penelopiad).
And, of course, there’s Graham, the love and partner of her life, who takes up much of the book in the end. Perhaps too much for this reader, but I could forgive her that. Because here she laid out the blood and guts of her love and the pain of losing him, and this emotionally moving chunk gave balance to the intellectually stimulating first half.
If you’re a junkie for all kinds of information on the book world, you will be fed. But her memoir-of-sorts would serve best if you have a few of her works under your belt before reading this, as she does weave them into her history.
I was daunted by the length of this memoir, and as per my usual m.o. with nonfiction, I lined up the novels I’d read as I went. But I never wanted to read anything but this. The story captivated me.
Here are some tid-bits about her writing process:
On writing Handmaid’s Tale:
“On a page with a swan image at the top, I began to write. A woman was walking, looking down at her feet. Impossible red flowers were sprouting from a gravel path. Then there was a cellar, and another woman on her knees, blood streaming down her face.
‘What’s this then?’ I asked myself. ‘And who’s this?’
My novels often start this way—with a scene, and image, some words. The opening scene often moves elsewhere in the book: The Handmaid’s Tale began with the group hanging scene, but that part eventually shifted toward the back of the book.”
On writing Alias Grace:
“…I got a blinding headache, along with the realization that I had to discard much of what I’d written: it’s hard to have a duplicitous narrator in the third person, unless we take it as a given that the narrator—the author—is lying to us. But a first person narrator can lie, and conceal, and leave things out, and often does. When a story is being told, there’s always a listener, stated or implied; and there is always a reason why the story is being told to that listener.”
Atwood pays her respects to the poet part of her that grew alongside the novelist, sharing some of her poems in the memoir. She also shares doodles and drawings, making me feel there’s little she cannot do. But Atwood seems to take as much delight in making fun of herself while sharing her vulnerabilities as she does at sharing what she accomplished and what mattered to her.
Filled with too many great photos, a comic strip or two, and doodled end-papers to recommend the audio version.
February 12, 2025
I’m sat madam president 🫡
MARGARET I LOVE YOU
MARGARET I LOVE YOU
December 15, 2025
As I close this lovely book, Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts, I am in awe of one of my favorite contemporary writers, Margaret Atwood. This was said to be a literary memoir, but in the end it is more an autobiography of her eighty-five years with unforgettable passages as she worked on her most acclaimed books, my favorites being Alias Grace, The Robber Bride and The Blind Assassin. The book is filled with many beautiful color photographs as well as drawings throughout the text, maps, diagrams, and such. The poetry throughout is beautiful.
To quote Kirkus Reviews: “A literary life infused by humor, grace, and devotion to craft.” and “Engaging, wise, and marvelously witty—illuminating both the craft of writing and the art of living.”
Margaret Atwood was raised by independent and scientifically minded parents. Her father was an entomologist and her mother a dietician both from Nova Scotia. Atwood spent most of each year in the wild forests of northern Quebec, much of this nomadic childhood spent in isolation. From this unusual start in life, Atwood gives us the story of her life as she links seminal moments to the books that have shaped our literary landscape. As we accompany Margaret Atwood on her journey, more and more is revealed, one begins to see the connections between life and art. Thank you for sharing your most inner being, Ms. Atwood.
To quote Kirkus Reviews: “A literary life infused by humor, grace, and devotion to craft.” and “Engaging, wise, and marvelously witty—illuminating both the craft of writing and the art of living.”
Margaret Atwood was raised by independent and scientifically minded parents. Her father was an entomologist and her mother a dietician both from Nova Scotia. Atwood spent most of each year in the wild forests of northern Quebec, much of this nomadic childhood spent in isolation. From this unusual start in life, Atwood gives us the story of her life as she links seminal moments to the books that have shaped our literary landscape. As we accompany Margaret Atwood on her journey, more and more is revealed, one begins to see the connections between life and art. Thank you for sharing your most inner being, Ms. Atwood.
November 8, 2025
Let me preamble this by saying she’s hard-working, prolific, excellent writer. I’ve read many of her novels and have enjoyed all of them. That said, like the women on the train when she was in Ireland this goes on far too long with too many details that are honestly not that interesting. There are moments, but I didn’t need three chapters about her husband‘s history or the family from Nova Scotia.
Read
January 26, 2026A titan of 20th century literature divulges long-held anecdotes, offers witty life lessons, and pulls back the curtain on her writing life in this expansive, exhaustive autobiography.
I’ll save you a full recap of the book since the premise is fairly simple: Margaret Atwood shares the story of her life from start to present, including tangents about her parents lives, her partner Graeme Gibson, and other dramas of the Canadian literary scene beginning in the mid-1960s.
It’s more autobiography than memoir, I’d argue, as Atwood focuses more on breadth of information than depth. Though, of course, across nearly 600 pages she does offer intimate details about her life and the lives of those around her; she doesn’t hold back, clearly you can tell from the page count alone.
But I was hoping for a bit more reflection rather than re-telling. There are many pages about contracts she signed, housing she had to find across various moves, regaling events at particular dinner parties or book launches, etc. She’s had a full and boisterous life and you get a sense of that on the page, even if not all of the particularities she provides are relevant to the average reader.
Speaking of which, who is this book for? Having finished it, and as someone who would definitely call themselves a fan of Margaret Atwood (even if I’ve barely scratched the surface of her oeuvre), I’d say this one is for the diehards. You have to really care about her to make it through this book. She’s a great writer, always, making even the most uninteresting anecdotes enjoyable to read about. But I think this book could have seriously been edited down and focused more on her feelings and reflections rather than all the details.
I most enjoyed it when she’d talk about her inspiration or writing process for particular books. She avoids giving too much information about her works, so don’t fear spoilers outside some of the more obvious ones (like The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments).
I imagine this will be a book many people will gift and be gifted, but I’m curious how many readers will actually finish it? I’m not mad I read it and wouldn’t discourage anyone who is interested in picking it up – though maybe try the audiobook? From what I hear (though I didn’t listen myself) she narrates it, and wonderful I’m told. Perhaps that medium would make some of the more tedious, less exciting sections a pleasure to be told.
I’ll save you a full recap of the book since the premise is fairly simple: Margaret Atwood shares the story of her life from start to present, including tangents about her parents lives, her partner Graeme Gibson, and other dramas of the Canadian literary scene beginning in the mid-1960s.
It’s more autobiography than memoir, I’d argue, as Atwood focuses more on breadth of information than depth. Though, of course, across nearly 600 pages she does offer intimate details about her life and the lives of those around her; she doesn’t hold back, clearly you can tell from the page count alone.
But I was hoping for a bit more reflection rather than re-telling. There are many pages about contracts she signed, housing she had to find across various moves, regaling events at particular dinner parties or book launches, etc. She’s had a full and boisterous life and you get a sense of that on the page, even if not all of the particularities she provides are relevant to the average reader.
Speaking of which, who is this book for? Having finished it, and as someone who would definitely call themselves a fan of Margaret Atwood (even if I’ve barely scratched the surface of her oeuvre), I’d say this one is for the diehards. You have to really care about her to make it through this book. She’s a great writer, always, making even the most uninteresting anecdotes enjoyable to read about. But I think this book could have seriously been edited down and focused more on her feelings and reflections rather than all the details.
I most enjoyed it when she’d talk about her inspiration or writing process for particular books. She avoids giving too much information about her works, so don’t fear spoilers outside some of the more obvious ones (like The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments).
I imagine this will be a book many people will gift and be gifted, but I’m curious how many readers will actually finish it? I’m not mad I read it and wouldn’t discourage anyone who is interested in picking it up – though maybe try the audiobook? From what I hear (though I didn’t listen myself) she narrates it, and wonderful I’m told. Perhaps that medium would make some of the more tedious, less exciting sections a pleasure to be told.
Want to Read
February 18, 2025Margaret Atwood is always a good idea, looking forward to this memoir! She looks so fashionable as well, love how she is leaning into her aesthetic and brings bold colours!
November 26, 2025
4 So-Much-More-Than-A- Mere-Memoir Stars!
I'm not usually one for reading memoirs or biographies. Although I've been a decades long fan of Atwood's work, I was not inclined to read any kind of memoir or biographical tome, even one penned by the esteemed author herself. It was really after receiving replies from gr Friend, Alan Teder, to my comments on a few of his status updates while he was reading this, and after reading all his status updates, that I became interested in reading 'A Memoir of Sorts'. Thank you very much Alan!
(I encourage you to read Alan's review of this bon-bon of a biography here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...).
At a visit to our local library I spied a brand-spank'n-new hard cover edition prominently displayed on the "New Books" carousel. I'm delighted to be the first library patron to physically check it out at the circulation desk 🤗.
And.....at 596 pages it easily qualified for reading in the Long Books Challenge (LBC) 🤸🏼!
There is so much of interest in this brick of a book that choosing what to highlight, emphasize, or discuss becomes very challenging. From the start Atwood is well aware of her "aura" of sorts:
"Witches, of course, unbound their hair in order to cast spells, unleash tornados, and seduce men: perhaps some of these beliefs lingered among male cultural commentators of the mid 20th century, contributing to my witchy reputation. Or the connection may be leftover from the 1950s-60s, a time when a female person who wrote anything but the ladies' pages was considered not only unnaturally powerful but also a borderline lunatic." page 105
There are several anecdotes about her misspent youth in the 1960's, one of my favourites:
After a fiendly young man spiked the author's gingerale with vodka at a party Atwood recalls,
"I've never encountered vodka before, didn't know what I was drinking and downed the lot. Then I blacked out. I woke up on a couch in the cellar with a boy on top of me. Then I threw up. Vomit is a damper of lust." page 275 🤭🤫
Atwood apportions more than a few pages to politics and activism.
The quote "The Personal is Political" derives from a 1969 essay of the same title by Carol Hanish. You can read this 2.5 page seminal essay along with a 2pg introduction added in 2006 by Ms. Hanish for free here: https://webhome.cs.uvic.ca/~mserra/At...
Of lean times the author wrote,"We thought of ways to make ends meet. At one point Graeme (her spouse) proposed a food related money making scheme: he would write a cookbook called EAT CHEAP BUT GOOD. A typical recipe: soup made of old peapods and carrot peels, to which you then added a bottle of champagne." page 443
Of course any bubbly worthy of a toast is not cheap; and any cheap bubbly, well let's just say added to Peapods & Carrot Peels Soup 😖🤢😪.
This may be the book:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Go figure 🤔.
I'd read the majority of her work years, some even decades ago; Margaret Atwood was one of my go-to authors during the 1980's. She comments on some of her novels:
CAT'S EYE, THE PREQUEL
Regarding violations of your trust:
"You might become a detective. You might become a con-artist yourself. Or, a blend of the two: you might become a novelist." page 154
Then there's Atwood's infamous novel THE HANDMAID'S TALE (a must read for EVERY HUMAN BEING!) removed from schools and libraries across the United States in 2022. In fact, it numbers among some of the biggest titles that are not allowed in several states in the country. Canada censored The Handmaid's Tale for the depiction of violence and offensive language. Other countries, including Portugal and Spain, have removed the book from the public's access on the grounds of sexual content, profanity, being anti-Christian, and featuring LGBTQ+ characters. According to writer Sima Sharifi, the Persian translation of the book released in Iran had the text altered to not "put the idea in women's heads that they would be rewarded for activism." Wouldn't you just love to get your hands on this "altered" edition⁉️
"The Handmaid's Tale was originally published in 1985 in England, Canada, & the U.S.; reviews differed among the three:
England - Jolly good yarn. (They'd had their religious civil wars in the 17th century & weren't intending a repeat)
Canada - Nervous, as usual, 'Could it happen here?'
U.S - On the one hand, 'Don't be silly, we're the world's leading liberal democracy, it could never happen here.' On the other hand, 'How long have we got?'"🤷🏼♀️ page 521
Yes, this is a memoir of sorts, and it's also a historical account, political commentary, literary criticism, and comedy all wrapped up in the life of one of the late 20th century's most prolific (64 books!) authors.
What a bonus that Atwood is Canadian, such a credit to the Maple Leaf Country💛🧚♀️🙋🏼👍!
I'm not usually one for reading memoirs or biographies. Although I've been a decades long fan of Atwood's work, I was not inclined to read any kind of memoir or biographical tome, even one penned by the esteemed author herself. It was really after receiving replies from gr Friend, Alan Teder, to my comments on a few of his status updates while he was reading this, and after reading all his status updates, that I became interested in reading 'A Memoir of Sorts'. Thank you very much Alan!
(I encourage you to read Alan's review of this bon-bon of a biography here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...).
At a visit to our local library I spied a brand-spank'n-new hard cover edition prominently displayed on the "New Books" carousel. I'm delighted to be the first library patron to physically check it out at the circulation desk 🤗.
And.....at 596 pages it easily qualified for reading in the Long Books Challenge (LBC) 🤸🏼!
There is so much of interest in this brick of a book that choosing what to highlight, emphasize, or discuss becomes very challenging. From the start Atwood is well aware of her "aura" of sorts:
"Witches, of course, unbound their hair in order to cast spells, unleash tornados, and seduce men: perhaps some of these beliefs lingered among male cultural commentators of the mid 20th century, contributing to my witchy reputation. Or the connection may be leftover from the 1950s-60s, a time when a female person who wrote anything but the ladies' pages was considered not only unnaturally powerful but also a borderline lunatic." page 105
There are several anecdotes about her misspent youth in the 1960's, one of my favourites:
After a fiendly young man spiked the author's gingerale with vodka at a party Atwood recalls,
"I've never encountered vodka before, didn't know what I was drinking and downed the lot. Then I blacked out. I woke up on a couch in the cellar with a boy on top of me. Then I threw up. Vomit is a damper of lust." page 275 🤭🤫
Atwood apportions more than a few pages to politics and activism.
The quote "The Personal is Political" derives from a 1969 essay of the same title by Carol Hanish. You can read this 2.5 page seminal essay along with a 2pg introduction added in 2006 by Ms. Hanish for free here: https://webhome.cs.uvic.ca/~mserra/At...
Of lean times the author wrote,"We thought of ways to make ends meet. At one point Graeme (her spouse) proposed a food related money making scheme: he would write a cookbook called EAT CHEAP BUT GOOD. A typical recipe: soup made of old peapods and carrot peels, to which you then added a bottle of champagne." page 443
Of course any bubbly worthy of a toast is not cheap; and any cheap bubbly, well let's just say added to Peapods & Carrot Peels Soup 😖🤢😪.
This may be the book:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Go figure 🤔.
I'd read the majority of her work years, some even decades ago; Margaret Atwood was one of my go-to authors during the 1980's. She comments on some of her novels:
CAT'S EYE, THE PREQUEL
Regarding violations of your trust:
"You might become a detective. You might become a con-artist yourself. Or, a blend of the two: you might become a novelist." page 154
Then there's Atwood's infamous novel THE HANDMAID'S TALE (a must read for EVERY HUMAN BEING!) removed from schools and libraries across the United States in 2022. In fact, it numbers among some of the biggest titles that are not allowed in several states in the country. Canada censored The Handmaid's Tale for the depiction of violence and offensive language. Other countries, including Portugal and Spain, have removed the book from the public's access on the grounds of sexual content, profanity, being anti-Christian, and featuring LGBTQ+ characters. According to writer Sima Sharifi, the Persian translation of the book released in Iran had the text altered to not "put the idea in women's heads that they would be rewarded for activism." Wouldn't you just love to get your hands on this "altered" edition⁉️
"The Handmaid's Tale was originally published in 1985 in England, Canada, & the U.S.; reviews differed among the three:
England - Jolly good yarn. (They'd had their religious civil wars in the 17th century & weren't intending a repeat)
Canada - Nervous, as usual, 'Could it happen here?'
U.S - On the one hand, 'Don't be silly, we're the world's leading liberal democracy, it could never happen here.' On the other hand, 'How long have we got?'"🤷🏼♀️ page 521
Yes, this is a memoir of sorts, and it's also a historical account, political commentary, literary criticism, and comedy all wrapped up in the life of one of the late 20th century's most prolific (64 books!) authors.
What a bonus that Atwood is Canadian, such a credit to the Maple Leaf Country💛🧚♀️🙋🏼👍!
January 18, 2026
I consider margaret atwood to be one of my very favourite writers (so far, I have read ten of her books) and think of her book alias grace as a pretty much perfect novel in every aspect. safe to say, I was very excited when I saw she had written a memoir.
while I really enjoyed some parts of this and found it fairly easy to get through despite its length (mostly thanks to her conversational style of writing), I ultimately didn't think it was successful as a memoir. the best way I can describe what reading this book felt like is this: did any of you also start keeping a diary when you were a kid and all you used the diary for was listing what you did that particular day ("I went to school, I didn't like what XY said to me in class, I came home and did my homework etc.") with very little or no space for internal reflection (which was completely fair because you were a literal child)? unfortunately, this is what reading this memoir felt like to me.
we start with her parents' backstory, continue on with her birth and then move at times slowly – during her childhood and teenage years –, at times swiftly – from the 1980s onwards – through her life. she tells us who she was dating, what she was studying, what she was working on, which canadian literary/cultural figure she was meeting etc. granted, she has lived a much much more interesting life than I did while writing my diary as a 9-year-old but I do think it was missing a crucial level of inner reflection while simultaneously going into some unnecessary detail when recounting seemingly trivial facts about people she knew.
what I really loved was her sharp wit and humour that came through in every chapter, I also enjoyed learning about her creative process and very much appreciate her for including some juicy literary gossip about a few (semi-)famous writers. after the first 200 pages I decided to pick and choose: I read what interested me (her reflections on her writing life and the reception of her work, her writing process and the descriptions of the living conditions under which she produced her fiction, ...) and skim-read what didn't (the overly lengthy family history of her husband, the descriptions of her father building the 36th house during her childhood, ...). I think this is the best way to go forward with this book and meant that I still overall enjoyed the process of reading this! ultimately however, I can't help but wonder who this book is actually for: if I found parts of this uninteresting and overly long (as a huge fan of her and her work), I can only imagine how bored readers who have only read one or two of her books must be while reading this.
while I really enjoyed some parts of this and found it fairly easy to get through despite its length (mostly thanks to her conversational style of writing), I ultimately didn't think it was successful as a memoir. the best way I can describe what reading this book felt like is this: did any of you also start keeping a diary when you were a kid and all you used the diary for was listing what you did that particular day ("I went to school, I didn't like what XY said to me in class, I came home and did my homework etc.") with very little or no space for internal reflection (which was completely fair because you were a literal child)? unfortunately, this is what reading this memoir felt like to me.
we start with her parents' backstory, continue on with her birth and then move at times slowly – during her childhood and teenage years –, at times swiftly – from the 1980s onwards – through her life. she tells us who she was dating, what she was studying, what she was working on, which canadian literary/cultural figure she was meeting etc. granted, she has lived a much much more interesting life than I did while writing my diary as a 9-year-old but I do think it was missing a crucial level of inner reflection while simultaneously going into some unnecessary detail when recounting seemingly trivial facts about people she knew.
what I really loved was her sharp wit and humour that came through in every chapter, I also enjoyed learning about her creative process and very much appreciate her for including some juicy literary gossip about a few (semi-)famous writers. after the first 200 pages I decided to pick and choose: I read what interested me (her reflections on her writing life and the reception of her work, her writing process and the descriptions of the living conditions under which she produced her fiction, ...) and skim-read what didn't (the overly lengthy family history of her husband, the descriptions of her father building the 36th house during her childhood, ...). I think this is the best way to go forward with this book and meant that I still overall enjoyed the process of reading this! ultimately however, I can't help but wonder who this book is actually for: if I found parts of this uninteresting and overly long (as a huge fan of her and her work), I can only imagine how bored readers who have only read one or two of her books must be while reading this.
June 27, 2026
Oh Margaret, what a life!
A palm reader told you once that you’d be famous and, turns out she was right. So right it made a believer out of you, and you learned the art of palm reading yourself. Lucky is the dinner party guest in the seat beside you.
Yes, early on you had your struggles (don’t we all!!). Some people tried to tame your hair (hello, rude!), an affront to curly haired girlies everywhere. Others tried to put you in a box, umm, no thank you no one puts baby (or Atwood) in the corner! And an alarming amount of men climbed through your windows unannounced, umm disturbing much, yikes! The Boston Strangler even came to town while you were at Harvard. And did this throw you off your game? Nope, you carried on and learned Judo. Umm, badass alert!
Perhaps it was all your time being raised out in the woods by your brainy naturalist father and spitfire mother that made you such a freethinking, publishing pioneer. An author who marched her ‘Edible Woman’ through the 60’s. Who grooved her ‘Dancing Girls’ through the 70’s. And really hit her stride in the 80’s and 90’s with the help of her ‘Handmaids.’ Margaret, you certainly cemented yourself as a household name in the publishing world, it’s a true ‘Testament’ to your work.
Yes, the publishing industry is a tough nut to crack. Never mind for a woman ‘back in the day.’ I wonder if that bored journalist from all that time ago ever regretted his interview with you. As he sat stifling a yawn and had the, pardon my French but, ‘balls’ to ask, “Do you at least write your poetry on drugs?”
The answer to that question was ‘No.’ Because, dear Margaret, you didn’t need mind-altering drugs to open the door to your brilliant imagination and genius prose. They were there inside you all along. Your future was already written in the stars and on your palm. It was just a matter of time before your palm reader made good on her promise and you became, now pardon my French again, famous as fuck.
Loved hunkering down with this in-depth memoir (of sorts). I’ll miss my time with Margaret!! She was a hoot! I had no idea she was so funny, as I’d only read her darker work. ‘Handmaids’ is one of my favorites.
October 13, 2025
What do you expect from the memoir of one of the sharpest minds in literature’s history? This isn’t a straightforward memoir; it’s a mosaic of memories, reflections, and literary breadcrumbs that reveal how Margaret Atwood sees the world, her place within it, and reflections on her career and specific moments. It is detailed, intimate, clever and laced with Atwood’s signature wit! I definitely chuckled out loud while reading it. I also enjoyed learning about her unusual childhood! She invites you to laugh, sometimes to ache or cringe, but always—always—to think.
I will leave you with this excerpt that I enjoyed, to get a taste:
”People have asked me over the years, ‘If you could choose another century to live in, which would it be?’ ‘Too general,’ I have replied. ‘What gender, what age, what country, what social class? A princess of the nobility or a ditch-digger?’ I had little doubt, that without the Age of Print, I’d have been scrubbing floors.”
Thank you so much to Doubleday for sending a free gifted ARC! Book releases 11/4/25.
I will leave you with this excerpt that I enjoyed, to get a taste:
”People have asked me over the years, ‘If you could choose another century to live in, which would it be?’ ‘Too general,’ I have replied. ‘What gender, what age, what country, what social class? A princess of the nobility or a ditch-digger?’ I had little doubt, that without the Age of Print, I’d have been scrubbing floors.”
Thank you so much to Doubleday for sending a free gifted ARC! Book releases 11/4/25.
Read
June 5, 2026Margaret Atwood has been part of my reading life for decades. While I admire her fiction, it is her poetry that I value most. I return to her poems far more often than I return to her novels, and some have stayed with me for years. At her best, she can take an ordinary observation and make it feel fresh, unsettling, funny, or profound. Few Canadian poets have left such a lasting mark on our literary landscape. For me, she remains one of the essential voices in Canadian poetry, a writer whose work has rewarded repeated reading and whose finest poems still possess the power to surprise me. That gift is so evident in her poetry that I kept waiting to find it in this book. I never really did.
Atwood gives us an enormous amount of detail. Memory follows memory, anecdote follows anecdote, and before long I began to wonder what it was all adding up to. The problem was not that the memories themselves were ordinary. Great memoirs are often built from ordinary lives and ordinary moments. The problem was that too few of these memories seemed to become anything more than memories. Knowing where the family outhouse stood may have meaning for Atwood. As a reader, however, I kept waiting to discover why it should matter to me.
The more I read, the more I felt that the issue was not the material but what was made of it. The best memoirists can take the smallest fragment of experience and turn it into something larger. They reveal character, illuminate relationships, and help us understand why certain moments continue to matter years later. Here, I often felt as though I was being shown the contents of an archive rather than invited into a life.
Throughout the memoir, I kept returning to the same thought: this is not the Margaret Atwood I know from her poetry and fiction. In those works, the ordinary becomes charged with meaning. A passing observation can open onto an entire landscape of thought and feeling. Here, details are more often preserved than transformed. Again and again, I waited for a memory to reveal something unexpected, for an anecdote to gather significance beyond the fact of its having occurred. That moment arrived less often than I had hoped.
By the end, my disappointment had less to do with the events of Atwood's life than with the way they were presented. Reading the memoir, I began to wonder whether her deepest gifts lie not in recounting experience but in reshaping it. The novelist and poet in her thrives on transformation. The memoirist, at least in this book, seems more interested in preservation.
Still, it seems churlish to complain too much. A memoir is, by its nature, a personal act of selection. The memories that matter most to the writer will not always be the ones that matter most to the reader. My difficulty with the memoir is not that Atwood chose the wrong memories, but that too few of them become anything more than memories. In the end, I came looking for Margaret Atwood the novelist and poet and found instead Margaret Atwood the archivist.
Atwood gives us an enormous amount of detail. Memory follows memory, anecdote follows anecdote, and before long I began to wonder what it was all adding up to. The problem was not that the memories themselves were ordinary. Great memoirs are often built from ordinary lives and ordinary moments. The problem was that too few of these memories seemed to become anything more than memories. Knowing where the family outhouse stood may have meaning for Atwood. As a reader, however, I kept waiting to discover why it should matter to me.
The more I read, the more I felt that the issue was not the material but what was made of it. The best memoirists can take the smallest fragment of experience and turn it into something larger. They reveal character, illuminate relationships, and help us understand why certain moments continue to matter years later. Here, I often felt as though I was being shown the contents of an archive rather than invited into a life.
Throughout the memoir, I kept returning to the same thought: this is not the Margaret Atwood I know from her poetry and fiction. In those works, the ordinary becomes charged with meaning. A passing observation can open onto an entire landscape of thought and feeling. Here, details are more often preserved than transformed. Again and again, I waited for a memory to reveal something unexpected, for an anecdote to gather significance beyond the fact of its having occurred. That moment arrived less often than I had hoped.
By the end, my disappointment had less to do with the events of Atwood's life than with the way they were presented. Reading the memoir, I began to wonder whether her deepest gifts lie not in recounting experience but in reshaping it. The novelist and poet in her thrives on transformation. The memoirist, at least in this book, seems more interested in preservation.
Still, it seems churlish to complain too much. A memoir is, by its nature, a personal act of selection. The memories that matter most to the writer will not always be the ones that matter most to the reader. My difficulty with the memoir is not that Atwood chose the wrong memories, but that too few of them become anything more than memories. In the end, I came looking for Margaret Atwood the novelist and poet and found instead Margaret Atwood the archivist.
August 30, 2026
I’m glad I finally finished this massive doorstop of a memoir by one of my favourite writers.
I’ve been reading Atwood for decades - ever since high school. Once, I even had the pleasure of interviewing her for her novel Alias Grace. We went out for coffee near her home, and when the bill came she asked if my magazine was going to pay and if not she would pick it up. I was new to freelancing so didn’t know. She paid, and then proceeded to give me some tax advice.
At times, this hefty book bogged down with excessive detail, especially in the first half. But Atwood has lived a full, rich life, some of it reflected in her work, but not all of it. Bird-watching. The environment. Human rights issues. They’re themes in her stories, poems and essays, but here they are part of her life.
Her love of the natural world comes, well, naturally, since she spent half of every year growing up in the woods (her father was an entomologist). She channeled much of her life into her fiction, and one of the joys of the book is seeing the links between real life and words on the page.
Another joy is reading her accounts of people who have treated her badly - bullying girls (which she recounted in Cat’s Eye), the manipulative ex-wife of her long-term partner Graeme Gibson, libellous journalists. I had no idea that the OTHER Canadian literary Margaret (Laurence) called her names when she and other friends expressed concern over her alcoholism.
(Thanks to her mentioning it, I looked up the pan that the New York Times Book Review ran of The Blind Assassin. She got the last laugh, however, when the novel went on to win the Booker Prize.)
While I initially thought the material about Gibson was excessive, it all pays off by the end, when she recounts their final years together as Gibson dealt with dementia and strokes. His death, which happened during the massive tour of Atwood’s book The Testaments, the much-anticipated sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, is movingly recounted. Atwood continued with the tour, partly so as to not let her publishers/audiences down, but also so she wouldn’t be alone with her grief; there would be time enough for that later.
The memoir has made me want to return to the books of hers I’ve already read, and discover ones I haven’t. Since Homer’s The Odyssey is in the zeitgeist right now, I may read Atwood’s The Penelopiad, her take on Penelope and the servant girls killed at the end.
And it’s intriguing to read her account of the controversial Steven Galloway situation. (A court case begins later this year.)
Atwood is kind of like the literary equivalent of Meryl Streep. Few authors - in Canada or even globally - have had such an enduring, varied and impressive career. Her huge reputation looms over everyone else doing what she does.
She’s lived a remarkable life, and reflected the world back at us in dozens of essential books, some of them eerily prescient, and all of them worthy of study and contemplation.
I’ve been reading Atwood for decades - ever since high school. Once, I even had the pleasure of interviewing her for her novel Alias Grace. We went out for coffee near her home, and when the bill came she asked if my magazine was going to pay and if not she would pick it up. I was new to freelancing so didn’t know. She paid, and then proceeded to give me some tax advice.
At times, this hefty book bogged down with excessive detail, especially in the first half. But Atwood has lived a full, rich life, some of it reflected in her work, but not all of it. Bird-watching. The environment. Human rights issues. They’re themes in her stories, poems and essays, but here they are part of her life.
Her love of the natural world comes, well, naturally, since she spent half of every year growing up in the woods (her father was an entomologist). She channeled much of her life into her fiction, and one of the joys of the book is seeing the links between real life and words on the page.
Another joy is reading her accounts of people who have treated her badly - bullying girls (which she recounted in Cat’s Eye), the manipulative ex-wife of her long-term partner Graeme Gibson, libellous journalists. I had no idea that the OTHER Canadian literary Margaret (Laurence) called her names when she and other friends expressed concern over her alcoholism.
(Thanks to her mentioning it, I looked up the pan that the New York Times Book Review ran of The Blind Assassin. She got the last laugh, however, when the novel went on to win the Booker Prize.)
While I initially thought the material about Gibson was excessive, it all pays off by the end, when she recounts their final years together as Gibson dealt with dementia and strokes. His death, which happened during the massive tour of Atwood’s book The Testaments, the much-anticipated sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, is movingly recounted. Atwood continued with the tour, partly so as to not let her publishers/audiences down, but also so she wouldn’t be alone with her grief; there would be time enough for that later.
The memoir has made me want to return to the books of hers I’ve already read, and discover ones I haven’t. Since Homer’s The Odyssey is in the zeitgeist right now, I may read Atwood’s The Penelopiad, her take on Penelope and the servant girls killed at the end.
And it’s intriguing to read her account of the controversial Steven Galloway situation. (A court case begins later this year.)
Atwood is kind of like the literary equivalent of Meryl Streep. Few authors - in Canada or even globally - have had such an enduring, varied and impressive career. Her huge reputation looms over everyone else doing what she does.
She’s lived a remarkable life, and reflected the world back at us in dozens of essential books, some of them eerily prescient, and all of them worthy of study and contemplation.
November 20, 2025
Oh dear...... I so wanted to love this memoir and her narration.
Fail on both desires.
It needed editing down to about half of the book. It drags on forever at times.
Her narration which is a constant drone. It might be useful for insomniacs.....
I am pretty sure no one was brave enough to tell the Queen of Canadian literature that she needed someone to take control of this endless diatribe.
I am sad.
Fail on both desires.
It needed editing down to about half of the book. It drags on forever at times.
Her narration which is a constant drone. It might be useful for insomniacs.....
I am pretty sure no one was brave enough to tell the Queen of Canadian literature that she needed someone to take control of this endless diatribe.
I am sad.
November 21, 2025
A Career & CanLit Overview with Humour 🍁
A review of the McClelland & Stewart hardcover (November 5, 2025) released simultaneously with the audiobook/ebook.
I hadn't actually planned on reading this for the 2025 Long Books Challenge with several GR friends, but when I was at the library there it was on the New Releases shelf and I went for it on impulse. I can't even say that I'm a huge Atwood fan, sticking mostly to her breakout hits & and several of the shorter works. After reading Book of Lives I'm definitely ready to tackle more though. There is even a nice omnibus edition The Margaret Atwood 4-Book Bundle: The Handmaid's Tale; The Blind Assassin; Alias Grace; The Robber Bride available as a bargain eBook if you are looking for a possible starter pack.
Book of Lives tells Atwood's own life story, starting with her younger years with her parents and siblings which was often spent roughing it in Northern Ontario and Quebec where her father worked as an entomologist. That early life prepared her for the later years with life partner Graeme Gibson (1934-2019). whether exploring, farming or viewing bird life in the wilderness. Gibson's own life story is interspersed throughout, including those years before the two ever met.
The main course is the story of Atwood's writing career and development from a poet at a young age to the dominant figure of Canadian literature she is today. The book is full of trivia on the backstories of the novels and many of the short stories. This often entails quirky encounters with other writers and the publishers and editors of her works. The book is enhanced by a generous number of photographs and several of Atwood's own quirky cartoon drawings.
This was overall a Canadian bibliophile's delight with an emphasis on Atwood's self-deprecatory humour and gossipy bits about the history of Canadian literature. One of my top reads of 2025!
Trivia and Link
Nothing to do with the book itself, as Estonia is not mentioned, but 10 years ago Margaret Atwood was in Estonia for a literary festival and bought a knitted Estonian cat hat, probably from one of the arts & crafts vendors who have their stalls around the old city wall.
Image sourced from Margaret Atwood's twitter here.
A review of the McClelland & Stewart hardcover (November 5, 2025) released simultaneously with the audiobook/ebook.
You were such a sensitive child!
- My Mother
But I'm quite flinty now.
- Me
Yes. You are.
- My Daughter
One of these days that smart mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble.
- My father, when I was a teenager
I hadn't actually planned on reading this for the 2025 Long Books Challenge with several GR friends, but when I was at the library there it was on the New Releases shelf and I went for it on impulse. I can't even say that I'm a huge Atwood fan, sticking mostly to her breakout hits & and several of the shorter works. After reading Book of Lives I'm definitely ready to tackle more though. There is even a nice omnibus edition The Margaret Atwood 4-Book Bundle: The Handmaid's Tale; The Blind Assassin; Alias Grace; The Robber Bride available as a bargain eBook if you are looking for a possible starter pack.
Book of Lives tells Atwood's own life story, starting with her younger years with her parents and siblings which was often spent roughing it in Northern Ontario and Quebec where her father worked as an entomologist. That early life prepared her for the later years with life partner Graeme Gibson (1934-2019). whether exploring, farming or viewing bird life in the wilderness. Gibson's own life story is interspersed throughout, including those years before the two ever met.
The main course is the story of Atwood's writing career and development from a poet at a young age to the dominant figure of Canadian literature she is today. The book is full of trivia on the backstories of the novels and many of the short stories. This often entails quirky encounters with other writers and the publishers and editors of her works. The book is enhanced by a generous number of photographs and several of Atwood's own quirky cartoon drawings.
This was overall a Canadian bibliophile's delight with an emphasis on Atwood's self-deprecatory humour and gossipy bits about the history of Canadian literature. One of my top reads of 2025!
Trivia and Link
Nothing to do with the book itself, as Estonia is not mentioned, but 10 years ago Margaret Atwood was in Estonia for a literary festival and bought a knitted Estonian cat hat, probably from one of the arts & crafts vendors who have their stalls around the old city wall.
Image sourced from Margaret Atwood's twitter here.
December 16, 2025
Delightful though dense with detail and historical context. Although Atwood effortlessly recreates her experience at any age, her perspective is salted with hindsight. She grew up between the wilderness and the city because of her entomologist father’s seasonal fieldwork. She was called “Little Carl” due to how much she resembled her handy father, who built the cabins and houses they lived in as well as most of their furniture. With her beloved older brother, Harold, she was free to explore and later, as a camp counsellor, was known as “Peggy Nature” for her zoological expertise. She could easily have become a scientist but fell in love with crafts and the humanities, sewing her own clothes and writing an opera for Home Economics class. By the end of high school, she’d decided she was going to be a poet.
I did get a little bogged down in the names and details of decades worth of publishing, but there is some tasty gossip, such as the fact that Margaret Laurence spread mean rumours about her (and was a drunk) but later changed her ways. It’s been a lucky window of time for Atwood to live through: she has known simplicity and the need for do-it-yourself practicality, but has also experienced privilege, even luxury (multiple homes and worldwide travel). Mostly, she had the good fortune of being at the start of Canada’s literary boom. In the early 1960s, only five Canadian novels were published per year. Through her involvement with literary magazines and House of Anansi Press and her books on Susanna Moodie and the tropes of Canadian literature, she helped create the scene.
There are frequent mentions of how people or events made their way into her fiction and poetry. Coyly, she writes, “I just have a teeming imagination. Also, like all novelists, I’m a kleptomaniac.” The page or two of context on each book is illuminating and it never becomes the tedious “I published this book … then I published this book” that she mentioned wanting to avoid in the introduction. Rather, these sections made me want to go reread lots of her books to appreciate them anew. I was also reminded how often she’s been ahead of her time, with topics and details that seem prophetic (she proposed Payback before the financial crisis hit, for instance). Some elements felt particularly timely: she experienced casual misogyny and an alarming number of near-misses – she says things like “I won’t give his name … you know who you are … though you’re probably dead” – and, through her involvement in bird conservation, she’s well aware of the disastrous environmental trajectory we’re on.
For a memoir, this is not especially forthcoming about the author’s inner life and emotions. Where it is, she masks the material in a layer of technique. So when she’s confessing to having an affair while married to Jim Polk (whom she met at Harvard), she writes it like a fairytale scene in which she went into the woods with a wolf. When she was fretting about Graeme Gibson’s reluctance to divorce her first wife and marry her, she imagines letters to her ‘inner advice columnist’. (Note: Gibson was her long-time partner and his sons were like her stepchildren but they never did marry – and he only ‘allowed’ her the one child, though she wanted two of her own. One ‘Jess Gibson’ has a speculative short story collection, The Good Eye, coming out in May 2026. No doubt her work will be compared with her mother’s, but bully for her for not using the name Atwood to try to ride her coattails.)
One of the successful literary touches is the recurring “We Nearly Lose Graeme” segments about his risky behaviour and various mishaps. He had dementia and mini strokes before suffering a major one while in London with her for The Testaments tour; he died five days later. Her reflections on his death are poignant, but generic: “We can all believe three things simultaneously: The person is in the ground. The person is in the Afterlife. The person is in the next room. You keep expecting to see him. Even when you know it’s coming, a death is a shock.” At the crucial moment, she turns to the first-person plural and the second person.
I skimmed some of the bits about Graeme’s earlier life and the behind-the-scenes of publishing; I felt that he and many of her literary pals are more important to her than they are to readers. But that’s okay. The same goes for her earlier life; I noted that the account of her time as a summer camp counsellor felt more detailed than necessary. However, with her gift for storytelling, even the smallest incident can be rendered amusing. She looks for the humour, coincidence, or irony in any situation, and her summations and asides are full of dry humour. Some examples:
It’s not a book for the casual reader who kinda liked one or two Atwood novels; it’s more for the diehard fans among us, and offers a veritable trove of stories and photographs. But don’t expect a tell-all. Think of this more as a companion to her oeuvre. The title feels literal in that it’s as if she’s lived several lives: the wilderness kid, the literary ingénue, the family and career woman, the philanthropist and elder stateswoman. She doesn’t try to pull all of her incarnations into one, instead leaving all of the threads trailing into the beyond. If anything, “Peggy Nature” is the role that has persisted. I probably liked the childhood material most, which makes sense as it’s what she’s looking back on with most fondness. Towards the close, Atwood mentions her heart condition and seems perfectly accepting of the fact that she won’t be around for much longer. But her body of work will endure. I’m so grateful for it and for the gift of this self-disclosure, however coy. (Can I be greedy and hope for another novel?) She leaves this message: “We scribes and scribblers are time travellers: via the magic page we throw our voices, not only from here to elsewhere, but also from now to a possible future. I’ll see you there.”
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
I did get a little bogged down in the names and details of decades worth of publishing, but there is some tasty gossip, such as the fact that Margaret Laurence spread mean rumours about her (and was a drunk) but later changed her ways. It’s been a lucky window of time for Atwood to live through: she has known simplicity and the need for do-it-yourself practicality, but has also experienced privilege, even luxury (multiple homes and worldwide travel). Mostly, she had the good fortune of being at the start of Canada’s literary boom. In the early 1960s, only five Canadian novels were published per year. Through her involvement with literary magazines and House of Anansi Press and her books on Susanna Moodie and the tropes of Canadian literature, she helped create the scene.
There are frequent mentions of how people or events made their way into her fiction and poetry. Coyly, she writes, “I just have a teeming imagination. Also, like all novelists, I’m a kleptomaniac.” The page or two of context on each book is illuminating and it never becomes the tedious “I published this book … then I published this book” that she mentioned wanting to avoid in the introduction. Rather, these sections made me want to go reread lots of her books to appreciate them anew. I was also reminded how often she’s been ahead of her time, with topics and details that seem prophetic (she proposed Payback before the financial crisis hit, for instance). Some elements felt particularly timely: she experienced casual misogyny and an alarming number of near-misses – she says things like “I won’t give his name … you know who you are … though you’re probably dead” – and, through her involvement in bird conservation, she’s well aware of the disastrous environmental trajectory we’re on.
For a memoir, this is not especially forthcoming about the author’s inner life and emotions. Where it is, she masks the material in a layer of technique. So when she’s confessing to having an affair while married to Jim Polk (whom she met at Harvard), she writes it like a fairytale scene in which she went into the woods with a wolf. When she was fretting about Graeme Gibson’s reluctance to divorce her first wife and marry her, she imagines letters to her ‘inner advice columnist’. (Note: Gibson was her long-time partner and his sons were like her stepchildren but they never did marry – and he only ‘allowed’ her the one child, though she wanted two of her own. One ‘Jess Gibson’ has a speculative short story collection, The Good Eye, coming out in May 2026. No doubt her work will be compared with her mother’s, but bully for her for not using the name Atwood to try to ride her coattails.)
One of the successful literary touches is the recurring “We Nearly Lose Graeme” segments about his risky behaviour and various mishaps. He had dementia and mini strokes before suffering a major one while in London with her for The Testaments tour; he died five days later. Her reflections on his death are poignant, but generic: “We can all believe three things simultaneously: The person is in the ground. The person is in the Afterlife. The person is in the next room. You keep expecting to see him. Even when you know it’s coming, a death is a shock.” At the crucial moment, she turns to the first-person plural and the second person.
I skimmed some of the bits about Graeme’s earlier life and the behind-the-scenes of publishing; I felt that he and many of her literary pals are more important to her than they are to readers. But that’s okay. The same goes for her earlier life; I noted that the account of her time as a summer camp counsellor felt more detailed than necessary. However, with her gift for storytelling, even the smallest incident can be rendered amusing. She looks for the humour, coincidence, or irony in any situation, and her summations and asides are full of dry humour. Some examples:
“Spoiler: Jim and I eventually got married, one of the odder things to happen to both of us.”
“After a while, the hand [at the window of her Harvard student accommodation] went away. It’s what you wish for in a disembodied hand.”
“Eventually the iguana [inherited from her roommate] was given a new home at a zoo among other iguanas, where it was probably happier. Hard to tell.”
It’s not a book for the casual reader who kinda liked one or two Atwood novels; it’s more for the diehard fans among us, and offers a veritable trove of stories and photographs. But don’t expect a tell-all. Think of this more as a companion to her oeuvre. The title feels literal in that it’s as if she’s lived several lives: the wilderness kid, the literary ingénue, the family and career woman, the philanthropist and elder stateswoman. She doesn’t try to pull all of her incarnations into one, instead leaving all of the threads trailing into the beyond. If anything, “Peggy Nature” is the role that has persisted. I probably liked the childhood material most, which makes sense as it’s what she’s looking back on with most fondness. Towards the close, Atwood mentions her heart condition and seems perfectly accepting of the fact that she won’t be around for much longer. But her body of work will endure. I’m so grateful for it and for the gift of this self-disclosure, however coy. (Can I be greedy and hope for another novel?) She leaves this message: “We scribes and scribblers are time travellers: via the magic page we throw our voices, not only from here to elsewhere, but also from now to a possible future. I’ll see you there.”
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
May 22, 2026
This book is a very lengthy sort of Memoir. Some of the experiences shared in this book are about the author's childhood and how those experiences came through in her poetry and books. There is also a lot of information shared about other people, including a few chapters about the author's husband.
I was left with the feeling that this book would be mainly enjoyed fully by someone that has read all of Atwood's books and is very much a fan of everything involving the author. The audiobook is narrated by the author and while I appreciate the author telling her stories it is told in such a monotone way that at times I would catch my attention drifting off a bit. The print book is quite the brick size, but well worth reading in this format as it includes pictures of the author, friends, and family. Overall, I was left feeling that Margaret Atwood has had an adventurous and fulfilling life. My heart goes out to her, as it is obvious she is still very much grieving the loss of the love of her life.
I was left with the feeling that this book would be mainly enjoyed fully by someone that has read all of Atwood's books and is very much a fan of everything involving the author. The audiobook is narrated by the author and while I appreciate the author telling her stories it is told in such a monotone way that at times I would catch my attention drifting off a bit. The print book is quite the brick size, but well worth reading in this format as it includes pictures of the author, friends, and family. Overall, I was left feeling that Margaret Atwood has had an adventurous and fulfilling life. My heart goes out to her, as it is obvious she is still very much grieving the loss of the love of her life.
Want to Read
April 4, 2025i'd order two copies of atwood's grocery list in a heartbeat. may her reign be a thousand years 👑
December 29, 2025
108th book read in 2025
This is the most excellent author memoir (of sorts) I have ever read. Every page was complete wonder and joy to read. I have been a Margaret Atwood fan since 1996 when I read Cat’s Eye. I have read every one of her novels and now I want to read them all again. I want to have a paper copy of each on my shelves, you know, just in case we can’t get books anymore.
Her signature voice is there, even while she writes about herself and her life and her writing. I had to go to my old reviews notebooks and read what I thought of each one when I first read it. She is so much my kind of person: dead serious, laugh-out-loud funny, contentious, and so human yet so beyond the usual human.
If you have loved Margaret Atwood, you will love this memoir. If you have only ever read The Handmaid’s Tale, you will find out why you should read all the rest. She is the greatest treasure Canada has ever produced.
This is the most excellent author memoir (of sorts) I have ever read. Every page was complete wonder and joy to read. I have been a Margaret Atwood fan since 1996 when I read Cat’s Eye. I have read every one of her novels and now I want to read them all again. I want to have a paper copy of each on my shelves, you know, just in case we can’t get books anymore.
Her signature voice is there, even while she writes about herself and her life and her writing. I had to go to my old reviews notebooks and read what I thought of each one when I first read it. She is so much my kind of person: dead serious, laugh-out-loud funny, contentious, and so human yet so beyond the usual human.
If you have loved Margaret Atwood, you will love this memoir. If you have only ever read The Handmaid’s Tale, you will find out why you should read all the rest. She is the greatest treasure Canada has ever produced.
October 29, 2025
love u margaret (ty to the publisher for my gifted copy)
January 19, 2026
Expect to see this nominated for the non-fiction portion of the Womens' prize this year. A great memoir about the life and books of Margaret Atwood. The writing is excellent and the audio read by the author herself gives it a special flavor. The audio does come with a PDF of the many pictures in the print but I found it much better to have the print itself in hand as I listened.. The many pictures add so much and much would be lost or at least upset the pacing of this long book if the reader had to go back and forth.
I am a little stuck between 4 and 5 stars. Who can argue to criticize what the author feels is important in the telling of their own story. Still I felt the early years through Atwood's college years used up more than half of the 600+ pages and there was so much more to tell that felt more important to this reader. Atwood began her writing as a poet and didn't really get into writing novels as a main stay till later. I have read many of her novels during the years and was anxious to hear more about her writing.
This is a book where Atwood concentrates mostly on the events and people who populated her life and had an influence on her. It is not primarily about how or what she wrote but how these events were occurring and may have influenced what she was writing but just as often the writing was happening separately and mentioned as an aside. If what the reader wants is more info on her writing inspirations, how she came up with the subjects for her books and details focusing on her craft I would say look elsewhere. Atwood has written on this subject but it is not covered in any detail in this book.
That said the writing is excellent Atwood with a great deal of humor laced into her most interesting life. I especially liked her years living with her partner on a farm in Northern Canada. It was a delight and I came away with a well rounded 3D image of one of present days great writers. 5 stars even with the feeling that it could have been shorter in the early stages.
I am a little stuck between 4 and 5 stars. Who can argue to criticize what the author feels is important in the telling of their own story. Still I felt the early years through Atwood's college years used up more than half of the 600+ pages and there was so much more to tell that felt more important to this reader. Atwood began her writing as a poet and didn't really get into writing novels as a main stay till later. I have read many of her novels during the years and was anxious to hear more about her writing.
This is a book where Atwood concentrates mostly on the events and people who populated her life and had an influence on her. It is not primarily about how or what she wrote but how these events were occurring and may have influenced what she was writing but just as often the writing was happening separately and mentioned as an aside. If what the reader wants is more info on her writing inspirations, how she came up with the subjects for her books and details focusing on her craft I would say look elsewhere. Atwood has written on this subject but it is not covered in any detail in this book.
That said the writing is excellent Atwood with a great deal of humor laced into her most interesting life. I especially liked her years living with her partner on a farm in Northern Canada. It was a delight and I came away with a well rounded 3D image of one of present days great writers. 5 stars even with the feeling that it could have been shorter in the early stages.
November 25, 2025
As is the case with so much of Atwood’s work, parts of this work are utterly brilliant, other parts overly detailed. Lengthy chapters on Graeme’s life seem unnecessary, for instance. She knows the chapter on the writing of The Handmaid’s Tale will be what most of us are reading for, but it is one of the least detailed chapters. The end of the book just sort of fizzles out. I really wanted more about her writing and fewer digressions about other people’s lives.
November 15, 2025
This is such a unique experience. I myself am not well versed with Atwood’s novels yet so intrigued. I saw all her books she has written through history and had to pick this book up. The size was intimidating but I dove right it!!! It was exciting how she grew up was so relatable for that time period. I loved how each chapter told of her personal life and focused on a book she was writing at the time. Especially loved the details of her popular book the handmaids tale and the testaments. I now have to read all of her books!!!
January 1, 2026
I have no energy to write a full review, but what a book to start my new reading year with! I am even more in awe of Atwood than I was before, although I know she doesn’t appreciate people being in awe of her. What a woman, what a life. I simply and greedily hope for more writing to come.
November 16, 2025
2.5 rounded up. She’s a remarkable woman and a phenomenal writer. It was interesting to learn how incidents in her life became parts of her work ie bullying although I did not read Cat’s Eye.
As clever as she is, however, this book was a little too long and a little too detailed for me.
As clever as she is, however, this book was a little too long and a little too detailed for me.
Read
November 4, 2025read my review here: https://thewalrus.ca/whats-missing-in...
February 19, 2026
Non so nemmeno da dove iniziare, quindi dico solo: che mente infinita Margaret Atwood! Un'autobiografia meravigliosa, che consiglio a chiunque di leggere.
Un tuffo intenso in una mente brillante, ironica, che fronteggia il mondo a testa alta e non si tira indietro a mostrare quando quest'ultimo ha un sistema che la schiaccia ma non per questo si dà per vinta.
Un tuffo intenso in una mente brillante, ironica, che fronteggia il mondo a testa alta e non si tira indietro a mostrare quando quest'ultimo ha un sistema che la schiaccia ma non per questo si dà per vinta.
May 7, 2026
truly a book of lives. i feel so honoured and privileged to have been able to witness so many lifetimes through these pages.
December 28, 2025
I loved the introduction, full of Atwood’s wit. The book went downhill from there. Not a memoir, but an autobiography cataloguing her childhood, then her early writing experiences, and then degenerating into literary name dropping. I couldn’t finish it.
August 1, 2026
"O Escritor é várias pessoas. É a pessoa que escreve, mas também é a pessoa que passeia o cão".
Quando li esta frase da Margaret Atwood estava a meio desta leitura e é verdade que exite uma dualidade. São pessoas diferentes. Eu geralmente não quero conhecer a pessoa mas gosto de ler as Biografias. É muito diferente e muito mais interessante.
Este "Livro de Vidas - Uma espécie de Memória" é fabuloso pela sua simplicidade. Está escrito quase como uma conversa e uma conversa sincera e sem filtros com Margaret Atwood seria sempre estimulante. É isso que a autora nos apresenta, as suas memórias, pequenos detalhes, as suas pessoas, as inspirações, os seus lugares e os livros. Sempre com um sorriso matreiro, uma pausa significativa, um rolar de olhos e uma boa "punchline".
Já tinha lido algumas das suas obras e também o livro de ensaios "Burning Questions". Ainda tenho muito para ler mas creio que estas memórias ainda vão ser consultadas à medida que vou lendo mais do que escreveu ao longo da sua vida.
Nada do que li me desagradou. E é muito interessante descobrir os pequenos factos que inspiram a ficção e como a sua inteligência e mestria na escrita os transformam e apresentam, sejam em histórias, ensaios ou poemas.
À autora, só me resta agradecer esta partilha que me inspirou, que me faz querer ser melhor. Numa palavra... ADMIRAÇÃO.
Quando li esta frase da Margaret Atwood estava a meio desta leitura e é verdade que exite uma dualidade. São pessoas diferentes. Eu geralmente não quero conhecer a pessoa mas gosto de ler as Biografias. É muito diferente e muito mais interessante.
Este "Livro de Vidas - Uma espécie de Memória" é fabuloso pela sua simplicidade. Está escrito quase como uma conversa e uma conversa sincera e sem filtros com Margaret Atwood seria sempre estimulante. É isso que a autora nos apresenta, as suas memórias, pequenos detalhes, as suas pessoas, as inspirações, os seus lugares e os livros. Sempre com um sorriso matreiro, uma pausa significativa, um rolar de olhos e uma boa "punchline".
Já tinha lido algumas das suas obras e também o livro de ensaios "Burning Questions". Ainda tenho muito para ler mas creio que estas memórias ainda vão ser consultadas à medida que vou lendo mais do que escreveu ao longo da sua vida.
Nada do que li me desagradou. E é muito interessante descobrir os pequenos factos que inspiram a ficção e como a sua inteligência e mestria na escrita os transformam e apresentam, sejam em histórias, ensaios ou poemas.
À autora, só me resta agradecer esta partilha que me inspirou, que me faz querer ser melhor. Numa palavra... ADMIRAÇÃO.
November 25, 2025
Margaret Atwood describes Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts as “a memoir of sorts,” though it reads more like a full autobiography. At more than 600 pages, it dwells on every conceivable detail of her life and career, from tap‑dancing class costumes to cheese‑box drums. Readers will need extraordinary patience to endure it. The narrative finally stirs to life at the halfway mark, once she moves beyond endless childhood minutiae and turns to adult experiences.
I listened on Audible, where Atwood herself narrates in a flat, soulless, sedated monotone, proof that not every author should read their own work. Tip: if you speed it up to 1.5, she almost sounds engaged, and the ordeal ends about 33% sooner.
For all its excess detail, the book does offer moments of insight and intimacy once Atwood turns to adulthood. Those passages remind us why she remains such a singular voice, even if the journey there demands patience. At one point, however, she betrays a small but telling ignorance of probate, a surprising lapse in an otherwise meticulous chronicle.
Despite its unevenness, the memoir offers enough insight to justify the long journey.
I listened on Audible, where Atwood herself narrates in a flat, soulless, sedated monotone, proof that not every author should read their own work. Tip: if you speed it up to 1.5, she almost sounds engaged, and the ordeal ends about 33% sooner.
For all its excess detail, the book does offer moments of insight and intimacy once Atwood turns to adulthood. Those passages remind us why she remains such a singular voice, even if the journey there demands patience. At one point, however, she betrays a small but telling ignorance of probate, a surprising lapse in an otherwise meticulous chronicle.
Despite its unevenness, the memoir offers enough insight to justify the long journey.
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