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Children Like Us: A Métis Woman's Memoir of Family, Identity and Walking Herself Home
A Métis girl is adopted by a Mennonite family in this breathtaking memoir about family lost and found—for those who loved From the Ashes, Educated and Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related.
"Such a lucky child, so many remind me. To be unwanted and then adopted, how lucky. To be raised by someone who doesn’t have to love you but chooses to love you—how special."
By the time Brittany Penner is seven years old, she has loved and lost twenty-one foster siblings who have come into her family and left—all of them Indigenous like her. "When will it be my turn?" she asks her mother time and time again. "When will I be taken away?" You won't be, she is told. You're adopted. You're here to stay. You're the lucky one.
Brittany was relinquished into care on the day of her birth in 1989 and adopted by a white Mennonite family in a small prairie town. Her name and where she came from are hidden from her; all she is told is that she is part-Métis. Her childhood is shaped by church, family, service and silence. Her family is continuously shapeshifting as siblings enter and leave, one by one. She knows, to stay, she has to force herself into the mold created for her. She must be obedient. Quiet. Good. No matter what.
Whenever she looks in the mirror, she searches her features, wondering if they've been passed down to her by her biological mother. She thinks, if she can ever find her mother, she'll find all the answers she's looking for. As Brittany moves into adolescence and then adulthood, she will uncover answers about her roots and her identity—but they will be more tangled than she could have imagined.
Children Like Us asks difficult questions about family, identity, belonging and cultural continuity. What happens when you find what you are looking for, but it can't offer you everything you need? How do you reckon with the truth of your own story when you've always been told you're one of the "lucky ones"? What does it mean to belong when you feel torn between cultures? And how does a person learn to hold the pain and the grief, as well as the triumphs, the joys and the beauty, allowing none to eclipse the other?
"Such a lucky child, so many remind me. To be unwanted and then adopted, how lucky. To be raised by someone who doesn’t have to love you but chooses to love you—how special."
By the time Brittany Penner is seven years old, she has loved and lost twenty-one foster siblings who have come into her family and left—all of them Indigenous like her. "When will it be my turn?" she asks her mother time and time again. "When will I be taken away?" You won't be, she is told. You're adopted. You're here to stay. You're the lucky one.
Brittany was relinquished into care on the day of her birth in 1989 and adopted by a white Mennonite family in a small prairie town. Her name and where she came from are hidden from her; all she is told is that she is part-Métis. Her childhood is shaped by church, family, service and silence. Her family is continuously shapeshifting as siblings enter and leave, one by one. She knows, to stay, she has to force herself into the mold created for her. She must be obedient. Quiet. Good. No matter what.
Whenever she looks in the mirror, she searches her features, wondering if they've been passed down to her by her biological mother. She thinks, if she can ever find her mother, she'll find all the answers she's looking for. As Brittany moves into adolescence and then adulthood, she will uncover answers about her roots and her identity—but they will be more tangled than she could have imagined.
Children Like Us asks difficult questions about family, identity, belonging and cultural continuity. What happens when you find what you are looking for, but it can't offer you everything you need? How do you reckon with the truth of your own story when you've always been told you're one of the "lucky ones"? What does it mean to belong when you feel torn between cultures? And how does a person learn to hold the pain and the grief, as well as the triumphs, the joys and the beauty, allowing none to eclipse the other?
384 pages, Paperback
Published July 29, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
August 7, 2025
The Glass Castle. From the Ashes. H is for Hawk. I read fiction 99% of the time, and yet these books are as much a part of my reader’s heart as the best fiction I’ve read. Children Like Us by Brittnay Penner has just joined those books deep in my chest. This story of a Metis woman who gets adopted into an extended Mennonite family in Western Canada is as uplifting as it is heart wrenching. I felt everything Brittnay felt growing up. I cried and laughed with her. This book made me want to be the kind of person that little Brittnay would have been safe with. I was rapt from the first sentence to the very end of the author acknowledgements. If you read ONE nonfiction book this year, make it this one. It will heal your soul, and make you remember that amidst everything Canadians are facing right now, is it the way we approach our identify, our family, our friends, our neighbours, that sets us apart and brings us together. God, I love this book.
October 13, 2025
Happy Sunday, book friends! I have a memoir recommendation for you today. In CHILDREN LIKE US by Brittany Penner, the Métis author recounts her experience of being adopted at birth by a Mennonite family. The reader follows Penner from childhood to adolescence, and into adulthood as she navigates the strong pull between two cultures. Raised in a white household, and unfamiliar with her biological roots, her questions and observations amp up as the years go on. Themes of belonging, acceptance, identity, and fear of abandonment are greatly explored.
This memoir takes place in Manitoba, the province I grew up in, so it felt very local to me. Penner doesn’t name the town that she was raised in, but I knew immediately which one it was. The local references made me smile, and truly miss Manitoba!
READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:
- Adoption and foster care stories
- Indigenous lifestyle and culture
- Canadian history
- Manitoba prairies setting
- Insight on the healthcare system
- Family drama and dynamics
- Complex mother-daughter relationships
- Themes of race and identity
CHILDREN LIKE US also showcases a shameful piece of Canadian history referred to the Sixties Scoop, in which indigenous children were taken from their families, placed in foster care, and then adopted by white families—a problematic method used to colonize indigenous people and strip away their identities. This is the first I’d ever heard of this policy, so learning about it was extremely eye-opening, informative, and absolutely heartbreaking.
Thank you, Brittany for your tremendous strength and bravery in sharing your story. I learned so much, and will never forget it. CHILDREN LIKE US is available now in Canada, and releases in the USA on November 4th. Highly recommend! 5/5 stars!
This memoir takes place in Manitoba, the province I grew up in, so it felt very local to me. Penner doesn’t name the town that she was raised in, but I knew immediately which one it was. The local references made me smile, and truly miss Manitoba!
READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:
- Adoption and foster care stories
- Indigenous lifestyle and culture
- Canadian history
- Manitoba prairies setting
- Insight on the healthcare system
- Family drama and dynamics
- Complex mother-daughter relationships
- Themes of race and identity
CHILDREN LIKE US also showcases a shameful piece of Canadian history referred to the Sixties Scoop, in which indigenous children were taken from their families, placed in foster care, and then adopted by white families—a problematic method used to colonize indigenous people and strip away their identities. This is the first I’d ever heard of this policy, so learning about it was extremely eye-opening, informative, and absolutely heartbreaking.
Thank you, Brittany for your tremendous strength and bravery in sharing your story. I learned so much, and will never forget it. CHILDREN LIKE US is available now in Canada, and releases in the USA on November 4th. Highly recommend! 5/5 stars!
September 10, 2025
A moving memoir about a young biracial Metis girl who was adopted by a Mennonite family only to grow up constantly feeling like she didn't belong and searching for her birth family and Indigenous community. There are some common adoption story themes here but also the unique lens of being part of the tail end of the 60s Scoop. At times heartbreaking but also hopeful in places too. I really enjoyed that the author narrates her story herself and that she chose to go into medicine and obstetrics where she fought to help provide better care for Indigenous women and mothers. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @libro.fm for a complimentary ALC. Recommended for fans of authors like Alicia Elliott.
May 20, 2026
4.5 | "Sometimes, I can't help but feel like our family is incomplete. Like there are other people sitting at the table with us but I can't see them. I can't hear them. But I can feel them."
Identity, loss, family, racism, and more. A memoir worth your time.
Audiobook: 10h 43m
Identity, loss, family, racism, and more. A memoir worth your time.
Audiobook: 10h 43m
August 31, 2025
3.75 ⭐️
February 10, 2026
Beautifully written and impactful. Our nation's atrocious treatment of the Indigenous peoples sometimes feels like its in the past, but I was surprised to find this author a very similar age to myself.
We want to think its history, but we're only a few decades from these horrible practices being commonplace. This book is an honest display of the intergenerational pain this kind of systemic injustice causes.
We want to think its history, but we're only a few decades from these horrible practices being commonplace. This book is an honest display of the intergenerational pain this kind of systemic injustice causes.
January 29, 2026
Such an impactful story and I hope memoirs like this can be included into the Canadian education system. It’s so important for us to remember Canada’s dark history and the lasting effects that continue today.
As someone who is half-Chinese and half-Trinidadian but grew up very westernized, I could really relate to Penner’s struggle with identity. I often feel so disconnected from either of my ethnicities and I appreciated the vulnerability that Penner shared.
As someone who is half-Chinese and half-Trinidadian but grew up very westernized, I could really relate to Penner’s struggle with identity. I often feel so disconnected from either of my ethnicities and I appreciated the vulnerability that Penner shared.
October 30, 2025
Book Report: Children Like Us: A Métis Woman’s Memoir of Family, Identity and Walking Herself Home by Brittany Penner
Children Like Us is a powerful and deeply moving memoir where Brittany Penner reflects on growing up as a Métis girl adopted by a white Mennonite family near the end of the Sixties Scoop. As she watches twenty one foster siblings each Indigenous like her come and go…she learns early about love…loss and what it means to belong. Through adulthood Brittany begins piecing together her identity and family story…uncovering truths that are both painful and healing.
Children Like Us asks profound questions like…What does it mean to belong when your life is split between cultures? How do you hold grief and joy in the same breath? Brittany’s voice is both tender and fierce sharing loss and hope equally and boldly.
I absolutely loved this book. My mom was adopted and her story has always captured my heart…Brittany’s did the same. I felt honored to receive a review copy and found it truly unputdownable. Closing the book I felt as though I had journeyed beside her…learning and reflecting with every chapter.
To me Children Like Us would make an incredible Book Club pick especially with #NonfictionNovember coming up! I’d love to see it chosen by one of the celebrity book clubs. It’s honest…eye opening and unforgettable💫
Here are a few quotes that stayed with me: 📖 “But such a life is difficult when you are afraid of so much.” 📖 “I am in constant search of story, of a narrative that feels whole and truthful and that helps me understand my family and my place in it.” 📖 “I carry the stories of these women within me with no place to lay them down.” 📖 “My grandparents' home always smells like a mixture of warm yeast from the buns rising in the oven and softened cabbage from soup simmering in a huge stockpot on the stove. It smells like the wood shavings left on our grandfather's collar and the manure wafting in from the pasture. It is earthy and it is comforting and it is familiar. I will never grow tired of it. In a few years, once my grandfather's health begins to fail and my grandparents move into town, I will wish I had paid closer attention. I will wish I could capture it all in a Mason jar like the ones Fred and I used for catching tadpoles in the ditch.”
Brittany’s story is one that deserves to be heard heartfelt…and beautifully written🌸
Thank you KCCPR & Regalo Press for the ARC!
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...
Children Like Us is a powerful and deeply moving memoir where Brittany Penner reflects on growing up as a Métis girl adopted by a white Mennonite family near the end of the Sixties Scoop. As she watches twenty one foster siblings each Indigenous like her come and go…she learns early about love…loss and what it means to belong. Through adulthood Brittany begins piecing together her identity and family story…uncovering truths that are both painful and healing.
Children Like Us asks profound questions like…What does it mean to belong when your life is split between cultures? How do you hold grief and joy in the same breath? Brittany’s voice is both tender and fierce sharing loss and hope equally and boldly.
I absolutely loved this book. My mom was adopted and her story has always captured my heart…Brittany’s did the same. I felt honored to receive a review copy and found it truly unputdownable. Closing the book I felt as though I had journeyed beside her…learning and reflecting with every chapter.
To me Children Like Us would make an incredible Book Club pick especially with #NonfictionNovember coming up! I’d love to see it chosen by one of the celebrity book clubs. It’s honest…eye opening and unforgettable💫
Here are a few quotes that stayed with me: 📖 “But such a life is difficult when you are afraid of so much.” 📖 “I am in constant search of story, of a narrative that feels whole and truthful and that helps me understand my family and my place in it.” 📖 “I carry the stories of these women within me with no place to lay them down.” 📖 “My grandparents' home always smells like a mixture of warm yeast from the buns rising in the oven and softened cabbage from soup simmering in a huge stockpot on the stove. It smells like the wood shavings left on our grandfather's collar and the manure wafting in from the pasture. It is earthy and it is comforting and it is familiar. I will never grow tired of it. In a few years, once my grandfather's health begins to fail and my grandparents move into town, I will wish I had paid closer attention. I will wish I could capture it all in a Mason jar like the ones Fred and I used for catching tadpoles in the ditch.”
Brittany’s story is one that deserves to be heard heartfelt…and beautifully written🌸
Thank you KCCPR & Regalo Press for the ARC!
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...
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November 2, 2025No rating- memoir
Where do I even begin. Brittany Penner grew up about an hour away from Winnipeg (where I’m from and still live). She is my age, we are 8 days apart actually. She went to the same university as me at the same time, we have the same millennial quips and I smirked when she talked about how winnipeggers forget how to drive after every first snowfall.
Her story is inspiring, hopeful, and heartbreaking.
Brittany is a Métis woman and is adopted into a Mennonite family, and grew up with several foster sisters and brothers over the years. Her relatives also would adopt and foster Indigenous/Métis children. Brittany tells stories about her childhood and shares her family’s dismissiveness, and racial bias but also their care and love for her.
Brittany grapples with identity and self discovery, while being engrained to be grateful for her upbringing, always wondering who her biological parents are. Brittany’s mother is very… sensitive? Brittany spends a lot of time consoling her when Brittany herself is in pain. Brittany’s father is a bit cold, traditional in the sense he had the notion “he is the head of the household” and Brittany had a tough time connecting with him but expresses how he is there for her in need and loves him just the same.
Brittany shares the traumas she experienced as a child, and her journey trying to find out who her bio parents are. She shares learning about indigenous culture, history and how her cousin suggested they were part of the 60s scoop, which officially ended in 1991.
Now a physician and writer, Brittany continues to inspire anyone who crosses her path, I am sure. An amazing memoir.
Where do I even begin. Brittany Penner grew up about an hour away from Winnipeg (where I’m from and still live). She is my age, we are 8 days apart actually. She went to the same university as me at the same time, we have the same millennial quips and I smirked when she talked about how winnipeggers forget how to drive after every first snowfall.
Her story is inspiring, hopeful, and heartbreaking.
Brittany is a Métis woman and is adopted into a Mennonite family, and grew up with several foster sisters and brothers over the years. Her relatives also would adopt and foster Indigenous/Métis children. Brittany tells stories about her childhood and shares her family’s dismissiveness, and racial bias but also their care and love for her.
Brittany grapples with identity and self discovery, while being engrained to be grateful for her upbringing, always wondering who her biological parents are. Brittany’s mother is very… sensitive? Brittany spends a lot of time consoling her when Brittany herself is in pain. Brittany’s father is a bit cold, traditional in the sense he had the notion “he is the head of the household” and Brittany had a tough time connecting with him but expresses how he is there for her in need and loves him just the same.
Brittany shares the traumas she experienced as a child, and her journey trying to find out who her bio parents are. She shares learning about indigenous culture, history and how her cousin suggested they were part of the 60s scoop, which officially ended in 1991.
Now a physician and writer, Brittany continues to inspire anyone who crosses her path, I am sure. An amazing memoir.
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November 18, 2025Thank you to NetGalley and Post Hill Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review
In a wonderful coincidence, the granting of this arc coincided with me studying the topic of métis communities in Canada as part of my French course at university. Penner's story is at once both deeply personal and unique to her family situation and also a harrowing picture of the sixties scoop of native children from their homes and their placement into the foster system to place them with non-native families.
There was some really interesting reflections in here about how time and life experience gave her the tools to look back on her own childhood and see struggles that she hadn't noticed before. I was also very moved by the descriptions of the bonds she had with all of her siblings over the years, and how much of an impact they had on each others' lives.
In a wonderful coincidence, the granting of this arc coincided with me studying the topic of métis communities in Canada as part of my French course at university. Penner's story is at once both deeply personal and unique to her family situation and also a harrowing picture of the sixties scoop of native children from their homes and their placement into the foster system to place them with non-native families.
There was some really interesting reflections in here about how time and life experience gave her the tools to look back on her own childhood and see struggles that she hadn't noticed before. I was also very moved by the descriptions of the bonds she had with all of her siblings over the years, and how much of an impact they had on each others' lives.
April 12, 2026
Having grown up menno myself, I could relate to much of her experience in that way but it was refreshing to hear her perspective, which is coming from a completely different lens than mine. Such an interesting mosaic of intersectionalities at play here. Brittany is grappling with all of them all. The result is a brave, focused memoir that really captures the nuance of her different identities. Didn’t take long for this to become intensely readable as I felt the urgency to find out more of her history as she was discovering it. What must have been and probably still is a surreal and emotional Journey to go on. I appreciate her decision to tell the story she wanted to tell and not feel like she owed the audience “a tell all confessional”. Yes there were parts left out or hinted at, but by omission it was actually more powerful and thematically fitting.
June 10, 2025
Giveaway
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I was captured right away from the beginning. I am. So sorry you had too go through this evil life. I c’ant understand how this can happened in this lifetime. I hope that people will see clearer through your story.
Thank you again for giving the chance to read your book.
Sending virtual hug your way
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I was captured right away from the beginning. I am. So sorry you had too go through this evil life. I c’ant understand how this can happened in this lifetime. I hope that people will see clearer through your story.
Thank you again for giving the chance to read your book.
Sending virtual hug your way
June 8, 2026
An extremely powerful memoir by a Metis woman adopted into a Mennonite family. Despite my lack of indigenous heritage, there were a lot of elements of Brittany's story that resonated strongly with me as a fellow adoptee and woman connected to Mennonites. Big time content warnings for people who are sensitive to trauma but Brittany handled it quite well and shared vulnerably and powerfully about coming to understand herself. A great book!
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August 20, 2025Every white Canadian should read this book. This book made me sit in a whole other uncomfortable position that I had never considered before and I am so grateful for everything I learned.
June 7, 2026
what a remarkable woman
August 28, 2025
4.5 stars. Really good! A Métis baby girl is adopted by a Mennonite Ukrainian couple who also foster numerous indigenous children during Brittany’s childhood. I enjoyed reading about the experience of Brittany’s childhood and felt compassion for her and also recognized her love for her adoptive family at the same time as her wanting to know her birth/first family. Adoption is a complex relationship, and very few people get out of childhood without some heartbreak and trauma to work through, nevermind adding in abandonment or attachment issues that adoption can highlight. Brittany is a great writer. My holding back a half-star is just because it feels like it’s still a little mid-story - I really want to know if her and Andrew are together…
Thanks for sharing your story, Brittany.
(I listened to the audiobook, read by the author and it was great! But I guess there were pictures - wish I could see them.)
Thanks for sharing your story, Brittany.
(I listened to the audiobook, read by the author and it was great! But I guess there were pictures - wish I could see them.)
August 21, 2025
What struck me while reading was how unflinchingly honest the writing is about adoption, identity, and the challenges of moving through medical training while carrying those questions. I found myself crying at moments that seemed simple on the surface but were written with such depth that they stopped me in my tracks.
This isn’t only a book for healthcare workers—though I think anyone in medicine needs to read it—it’s a book for everyone. It opened my eyes and reminded me how important it is to take the time to learn what it’s like to live as someone else in our country. You can always learn more from other people’s experiences, and that’s why books like this matter so much.
The impact was so strong that I’ve already deemed it a must-read. After finishing my advance copy, I went out and bought a physical edition just so I can put it into the hands of others. That’s how important this book feels.
This isn’t only a book for healthcare workers—though I think anyone in medicine needs to read it—it’s a book for everyone. It opened my eyes and reminded me how important it is to take the time to learn what it’s like to live as someone else in our country. You can always learn more from other people’s experiences, and that’s why books like this matter so much.
The impact was so strong that I’ve already deemed it a must-read. After finishing my advance copy, I went out and bought a physical edition just so I can put it into the hands of others. That’s how important this book feels.
October 29, 2025
3.5 stars.
I wanted a little more examination of whether the author thinks she was better raised in a foster home with white parents or a foster home with non white parents. She definitely has opinions about it, but she doesn't go deep enough. For instance, her foster siblings got shuffled from one home to the next, yet she remained her entire childhood with one family because they adopted her as a baby. Would that have been better (to be shuffled from one foster family - even an Indigenous one) or to remain with one white family who doesn't understand her biological heritage? She does eventually come full circle with her criticism of her white parents lack of understanding of her Indigenous heritage (her adoptive parents were Mennonite), but it feels a little harsh given the alternative at the time (meaning, you can't get a time machine and go back to the future).
I wanted a little more examination of whether the author thinks she was better raised in a foster home with white parents or a foster home with non white parents. She definitely has opinions about it, but she doesn't go deep enough. For instance, her foster siblings got shuffled from one home to the next, yet she remained her entire childhood with one family because they adopted her as a baby. Would that have been better (to be shuffled from one foster family - even an Indigenous one) or to remain with one white family who doesn't understand her biological heritage? She does eventually come full circle with her criticism of her white parents lack of understanding of her Indigenous heritage (her adoptive parents were Mennonite), but it feels a little harsh given the alternative at the time (meaning, you can't get a time machine and go back to the future).
October 21, 2025
An in depth look at the many sides of being adopted, lost, figuring out your place in family.
Relating to the yearning for knowing one's roots when one finds out they were adopted, the search is a painful truth that can be faced with patience, understanding, & time.
The depth of the Author's stories and photos help to keep the real alive! A Wonderful heartfelt read and learning about how so many different family types are raised within, especially when one is not from that same culture. An eye-opening look in to one life, when so many others have similar stories.
I won my ARC copy through a Goodreads Giveaway.
Thank you to the Author for sharing her story.
Relating to the yearning for knowing one's roots when one finds out they were adopted, the search is a painful truth that can be faced with patience, understanding, & time.
The depth of the Author's stories and photos help to keep the real alive! A Wonderful heartfelt read and learning about how so many different family types are raised within, especially when one is not from that same culture. An eye-opening look in to one life, when so many others have similar stories.
I won my ARC copy through a Goodreads Giveaway.
Thank you to the Author for sharing her story.
August 10, 2025
A must-read - full stop.
Such a powerful humanization of the tragedies of colonization on Indigenous Peoples in Canada. It’s a beautiful, heartbreaking narrative of complex intersectionality, trauma, and the loneliness of feeling outside of belonging. When I first saw the words “…walking herself home” on the cover (one of my favourite expressions), I know it was for me. Her story resonates deeply, but also highlights impossibly hard truths that I will never fully understand but impress heavily on the heart. 10/10. Do not skip the acknowledgements. I’m so sad it’s done.
Such a powerful humanization of the tragedies of colonization on Indigenous Peoples in Canada. It’s a beautiful, heartbreaking narrative of complex intersectionality, trauma, and the loneliness of feeling outside of belonging. When I first saw the words “…walking herself home” on the cover (one of my favourite expressions), I know it was for me. Her story resonates deeply, but also highlights impossibly hard truths that I will never fully understand but impress heavily on the heart. 10/10. Do not skip the acknowledgements. I’m so sad it’s done.
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February 9, 2026Dear Brittany
I was glad to have read your book and learn about adoption and how living in a family so dedicated to fostering and adopting was viewed by a community as well as your own personal experiences as a child. Best of luck in all your future adventures and life.
💕🙏🏻🌺
I was glad to have read your book and learn about adoption and how living in a family so dedicated to fostering and adopting was viewed by a community as well as your own personal experiences as a child. Best of luck in all your future adventures and life.
💕🙏🏻🌺
May 21, 2026
5 stars. Wow.
There are some books that leave an impression long after you finish the final page, and Children Like Us is absolutely one of them.
As an Indigenous woman from Manitoba myself, this memoir felt incredibly personal. Brittany Penner’s story does not just speak about identity; it captures the painful and complicated reality of trying to understand where you belong. The way she writes about the lasting impacts of the Sixties Scoop and the atrocities tied to Canadian history is both heartbreaking and necessary. It is impossible to read this book without feeling anger for the systems that failed so many Indigenous families and communities.
What stood out most to me was how thoughtfully Penner explored the foster care and adoption systems, especially the ways Indigenous children were disconnected from their families, culture, and identities. She speaks so openly about the struggle of reconnecting with Indigenous culture while carrying the grief of everything that was lost along the way. That journey toward reclaiming identity felt so raw and authentic.
The book also touches deeply on systemic injustice within the healthcare system and the ways Indigenous people continue to navigate institutions that were never built with them in mind. None of these conversations felt performative or surface level, they felt lived in, honest, and deeply human.
One of the most powerful parts of this memoir was the exploration of mother-daughter relationships. The love, hurt, longing, and understanding woven throughout the story felt incredibly real. Penner writes with so much compassion, even when discussing painful truths, and it created such an emotional reading experience.
What I appreciated most is that this memoir never loses sight of joy, even while carrying immense grief. It beautifully captures what it means to hold both at the same time: to mourn what was taken while still finding connection, healing, love, and belonging. That balance made this memoir feel so powerful and hopeful despite its heavy subject matter. This is more than a memoir; it is a story about identity, survival, reconnection, and the strength it takes to walk yourself home. I truly think this is an important read for Canadians, especially for those wanting to better understand the ongoing impacts of colonial systems on Indigenous families and communities.
There are some books that leave an impression long after you finish the final page, and Children Like Us is absolutely one of them.
As an Indigenous woman from Manitoba myself, this memoir felt incredibly personal. Brittany Penner’s story does not just speak about identity; it captures the painful and complicated reality of trying to understand where you belong. The way she writes about the lasting impacts of the Sixties Scoop and the atrocities tied to Canadian history is both heartbreaking and necessary. It is impossible to read this book without feeling anger for the systems that failed so many Indigenous families and communities.
What stood out most to me was how thoughtfully Penner explored the foster care and adoption systems, especially the ways Indigenous children were disconnected from their families, culture, and identities. She speaks so openly about the struggle of reconnecting with Indigenous culture while carrying the grief of everything that was lost along the way. That journey toward reclaiming identity felt so raw and authentic.
The book also touches deeply on systemic injustice within the healthcare system and the ways Indigenous people continue to navigate institutions that were never built with them in mind. None of these conversations felt performative or surface level, they felt lived in, honest, and deeply human.
One of the most powerful parts of this memoir was the exploration of mother-daughter relationships. The love, hurt, longing, and understanding woven throughout the story felt incredibly real. Penner writes with so much compassion, even when discussing painful truths, and it created such an emotional reading experience.
What I appreciated most is that this memoir never loses sight of joy, even while carrying immense grief. It beautifully captures what it means to hold both at the same time: to mourn what was taken while still finding connection, healing, love, and belonging. That balance made this memoir feel so powerful and hopeful despite its heavy subject matter. This is more than a memoir; it is a story about identity, survival, reconnection, and the strength it takes to walk yourself home. I truly think this is an important read for Canadians, especially for those wanting to better understand the ongoing impacts of colonial systems on Indigenous families and communities.
September 21, 2025
Brittany Penner's "Children Like Us" is a raw and honest memoir that delves deep into the complexities of adoption, familial love, and intergenerational trauma. It's a story that is both heart-wrenching and necessary.
The author recounts her life as a Métis child adopted by a well-intentioned white Mennonite family. The unique twist in her story is the environment of constant transition her parents created by fostering other children. While reassured she was "permanent," the constant cycle of children arriving and then disappearing planted a seed of fear that her security was never guaranteed.
This underlying anxiety leads to her struggle to form an identity. Always told to be grateful for the life she has, she struggles with the silence around her Métis heritage and the story of her birth mother. The book is a powerful exploration of being caught between two worlds and the journey to find a way to hold space for both the grief and the beauty of that position.
I think every Canadian should read this to understand the systemic policies that attempted to erase Indigenous identity. It asks difficult but essential questions about belonging and cultural continuity. A difficult but necessary story, told with honesty and grace.
The author recounts her life as a Métis child adopted by a well-intentioned white Mennonite family. The unique twist in her story is the environment of constant transition her parents created by fostering other children. While reassured she was "permanent," the constant cycle of children arriving and then disappearing planted a seed of fear that her security was never guaranteed.
This underlying anxiety leads to her struggle to form an identity. Always told to be grateful for the life she has, she struggles with the silence around her Métis heritage and the story of her birth mother. The book is a powerful exploration of being caught between two worlds and the journey to find a way to hold space for both the grief and the beauty of that position.
I think every Canadian should read this to understand the systemic policies that attempted to erase Indigenous identity. It asks difficult but essential questions about belonging and cultural continuity. A difficult but necessary story, told with honesty and grace.
May 24, 2026
I recently read Children Like Us by @bee.penner and it was sooo good! Brittany is a sixties scoop survivor who was adopted by a white mennonite family in rural Manitoba in the late 80s. She grew up the only adopted child in a family that fostered other Indigenous children, which caused recurrent traumas when her numerous siblings and some cousins were each taken away. Brittany was desperate to find her biological family and reconnect with her Indigenous roots and was fortunate enough to be able to do both of those things. She had to work really hard to overcome the traumas of her childhood in order to become a doctor, especially because she lives and works in Manitoba where Indigenous people face significant barriers including: racism, lack of access to health care or poor treatment while accessing health care, high levels of poverty, incarceration and CFS involvement, to name a few.
I really enjoyed Brittany's story and I really connected with her since we are similar in age and from the same province. I have read memoirs of other sixty scoop survivors, but to have one so close in age to me made it a really unique reading experience. I was rooting for Brittany from page one and am so glad that she was able to chase her dreams, fight for what matters to her and find all kinds of family in the communities around her. I would definitely recommend this book! Thanks to@netgalley and the publisher @doubledayca @regalo_press for giving me the chance to read and review this excellent memoir!
I really enjoyed Brittany's story and I really connected with her since we are similar in age and from the same province. I have read memoirs of other sixty scoop survivors, but to have one so close in age to me made it a really unique reading experience. I was rooting for Brittany from page one and am so glad that she was able to chase her dreams, fight for what matters to her and find all kinds of family in the communities around her. I would definitely recommend this book! Thanks to@netgalley and the publisher @doubledayca @regalo_press for giving me the chance to read and review this excellent memoir!
July 4, 2026
My Dene adopted sister passed away this month at age 57 of cancer and that week I found this book …it just appeared to me at the library. I’ve read many many residential school books in hopes of working toward reconciliation. After 2015 my sister had very little contact with us and her girls in their twenties started asking for money. Coincidently thats when the govt released the Reconciliation report. I’ve read the calls to action and I hear words of recognition at every event in BRITISH COLUMBIA. My sister said They think we are rich. And now apparently we are the enemy as we are colonizers. We started giving my sister a monthly allowance about three years ago which was part of her inheritance from my mother which we all agreed to. This did not in any way endear us to the family. My brother also paid funeral expenses.
So I have a problem with how she brings in the 60s scoop. It could be that Im defensive as her adoptive parents were. I really feel for them and would think she is ungrateful.
Im CALLING IT a convenient way to deal with her feelings. Just my opinion.
I was happy to see she got back with her husband. Obviously she had a lot to deal with. And good she had counselling.
So I have a problem with how she brings in the 60s scoop. It could be that Im defensive as her adoptive parents were. I really feel for them and would think she is ungrateful.
Im CALLING IT a convenient way to deal with her feelings. Just my opinion.
I was happy to see she got back with her husband. Obviously she had a lot to deal with. And good she had counselling.
October 11, 2025
This is an incredibly compelling story about a Métis woman and physician who grew up in rural Manitoba and has returned there to practice medicine. She was adopted at birth by a Mennonite family. While a different time, she grew up in Miriam Toews’ home town.Through this memoir, Brittany Penner chronicles her life from her earliest infancy to the present as she grapples with the uncertainty of not knowing about her indigenous roots, struggling with racism and abuse, meeting her birth family and finally moving onto university and medical school.
While not described as such, the trauma she experienced in her childhood through the church and at high school, within the indigenous friends and family she connected with as a young adult, and finally in her medical school rotations and residency programs had a profound affect on her. The book speaks to vulnerability and resilience. It also speaks to the power of relationships she has had through her life.
Wishing Brittany strength and power as she moves onto the next decades of her life.
While not described as such, the trauma she experienced in her childhood through the church and at high school, within the indigenous friends and family she connected with as a young adult, and finally in her medical school rotations and residency programs had a profound affect on her. The book speaks to vulnerability and resilience. It also speaks to the power of relationships she has had through her life.
Wishing Brittany strength and power as she moves onto the next decades of her life.
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September 17, 2025In this heartfelt memoir, Brittany Penner shares her story of being a Métis girl adopted by a white Mennonite family in a small town. Her parents fostered many other children over the years, most of whom were eventually taken back into the system. That constant cycle created a lingering fear for Brittany, no matter how often her parents reassured her she was different because she was adopted, she couldn’t shake the worry that one day it would be her turn.
Beyond that fear, Brittany is also searching for her identity. All she knows is that she’s half Métis and that her birth mom gave her up for adoption. But growing up, she’s constantly reminded to “be grateful” for the life she has, and of the life she could have had—a weight that makes the search for self even more complicated.
This memoir is an honest and moving reflection on childhood, belonging, and the complexities of understanding your identity when the world tries to define it for you.
Beyond that fear, Brittany is also searching for her identity. All she knows is that she’s half Métis and that her birth mom gave her up for adoption. But growing up, she’s constantly reminded to “be grateful” for the life she has, and of the life she could have had—a weight that makes the search for self even more complicated.
This memoir is an honest and moving reflection on childhood, belonging, and the complexities of understanding your identity when the world tries to define it for you.
June 7, 2026
This is a phenomenal book and I highly recommend everyone to read it. As a small town girl from Manitoba, I felt like I was right back home. From eating all the home cooked meals the author described to playing in culverts with my cousin. I was transported back in time and was reliving the most amazing memories of family and home.
It also helped me reflect on racist comments and behaviours that I grew up around and how that impacted my relationship with indigenous classmates and friends. How I was always confused why I couldn't have a sleep over at my friend Angela's house, or how my sister's adopted friend was so depressed and angry.
I really appreciated the insight into indigenous health and discrimination being in health care myself. I feel like I learned more about these disparities reading this book than I have with any learning program set up through the organization I work for.
Thanks you, Brittany, for writing this book and sharing your story.
It also helped me reflect on racist comments and behaviours that I grew up around and how that impacted my relationship with indigenous classmates and friends. How I was always confused why I couldn't have a sleep over at my friend Angela's house, or how my sister's adopted friend was so depressed and angry.
I really appreciated the insight into indigenous health and discrimination being in health care myself. I feel like I learned more about these disparities reading this book than I have with any learning program set up through the organization I work for.
Thanks you, Brittany, for writing this book and sharing your story.
November 24, 2025
Brittany Penner is placed in care and later adopted by a white Mennonite family. She is told she part-Métis, but otherwise left in the dark about her identity and background. Over her life, her adopted parents foster other indigenous children who come and go from the home, and as a young child, this confuses Brittany, never firmly feeling rooted, that she, too, might have to go. The descriptions of Brittany looking in the mirror, hoping to discover some semblance of her birth mother, so tenderly drawn.
Brittany eventually discovers more about her birth family, but those discoveries come with other weights. A complex story and rendered so beautifully, Brittany’s journey to self is moving, inspiring, informative, and shines a light on her bravery and heartrending eloquence. My highest recommendation.
I received a gifted copy.
Brittany eventually discovers more about her birth family, but those discoveries come with other weights. A complex story and rendered so beautifully, Brittany’s journey to self is moving, inspiring, informative, and shines a light on her bravery and heartrending eloquence. My highest recommendation.
I received a gifted copy.
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