An Anthology of Monsters: How Story Saves Us from Our Anxiety

by Cherie Dimaline

An Anthology of Monsters by Cherie Dimaline, award-winning author of The Marrow Thieves, is the tale of an intricate dance with life-long anxiety. It is about how the stories we tell ourselves can help reshape the ways in which we think, cope, and ultimately survive. Using examples from her books, from her mère, and from her own late night worry sessions, Dimaline choreographs a deeply personal narrative about all the ways in which we tell stories. She reveals how to collect and curate our stories, how they elicit difficult and beautiful conversations, and how family and community is a place of refuge and strength.

Genres: Nonfiction, Indigenous, Mental Health, Essays, Writing, Canada

42 pages, Paperback

First published February 24, 2023

About the author

Cherie Dimaline wins her first Governor General's Literary Award in 2017 with The Marrow Thieves. She is an author and editor from the Georgian Bay Métis community whose award-winning fiction has been published and anthologized internationally. In 2014, she was named the Emerging Artist of the Year at the Ontario Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts, and became the first Aboriginal Writer in Residence for the Toronto Public Library. Cherie Dimaline currently lives in Toronto where she coordinates the annual Indigenous Writers' Gathering.

Reviews

[George Ilsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories we tell ourselves are often the basis for anxiety and relentless worries. We keep telling stories about all the horrible things that might happen, could happen, how everything will go wrong.

We can also help to ourselves cope with other stories, stories about ourselves, where we come from. Stories can also heal.

Dimaline makes the point that writers, with their vivid imaginations, can easily fall into the anxiety trap.

While the content was inspiring, the format of the book was not great. This is a 42 page, larger format paperback, with lots of white space. So why does the print have to be so small? "Aesthetic" choices are not always reader friendly.

[Miss Syreena · Rating 5 out of 5]

So beautiful. Dimaline shares her anxieties and imposter syndrome fears along with her coping mechanisms (like writing stories and others who have inspired her). A book worth revisiting if you’re having one of those sleepless worrying nights.

[Nay Darling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for any creative and/or lover of stories who suffers from anxiety.

A great reflection on how anxiety impacts our lives, works and communities and how we can take control and use it to benefit us all.

[Lio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Consider everything in stories, and consider stories in everything. Especially yourself.

[Isabela · Rating 5 out of 5]

09/2023: um livro pra ser lido e relido pra aprender
02/2025: eu ainda acho isso e acho que queria ser tradutora só pra trazer esse livro pro Brasil e fazer todo mundo que eu conheço ler

[Paris Semansky · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must-read from one of my favourite authors. Cherie Dimaline's AN ANTHOLOGY OF MONSTERS: HOW STORY SAVES US FROM OUR ANXIETY is her contribution to the CLC Kreisel Lecture Series. It's only 50 pages, but I would have happily read 300.

It starts with @cherie.dimaline sharing her experience with anxiety as a child and how it has shaped her. She beautifully talks about the ways that stories - about ourselves, our family, our community, and even our monsters - can give that anxiety space that doesn't overwhelm us.

She talks about the way this approach has threaded through her writing, the process itself, and the books themselves. And wonderfully she talks about the deliberate effort to make her books both reflect so much of the horror of residential schools and colonialism, but also "the hope and beauty of a people who could survive it, who could laugh the loudest, love the hardest." To read any of her books is to know exactly this perfect balance.

I completely and totally recommend picking this up. It's an hour of your time that will give you so much back.

[Nicholas Zacharewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this essay, author Cherie Dimaline is open about her experiences with anxiety, describing it via a handful of incidents from her life. Through these retellings, she demonstrates how to live with that anxious feeling, that voice, via story and via the connected idea of anthologizing one’s anxiety as a set of stories, a kind of hexing of the fiend at your back by directing your magic into a mirror you’re facing but not looking into. It’s a book that gave me some witch-y vibes (no doubt thanks to Dimaline’s discussing her book about a coven (VenCo) and the autumnal vibe of the volume’s cover art).

Unfortunately, as an essay, there’s only enough room here for Dimaline to start to develop her central idea. As a fan of books you can lounge in, really sprawl yourself out in, that left me curious to find out more about her other works. Maybe it’s not the best jumping off point, but through some sort of magic this is the book of hers that came to me and that has left me curious about what else she has written.

[G.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Cherie:
I hadn’t ever considered how my own anxieties fuelled my stories. Nor had I taken the time to think my work may have assisted in helping me work out my own personal stuff. Ugh! Cherie, your lecture was fucking genius. Genius!

I started reading Anthology on what would have been my grandmother’s 110th birthday. My grandmother, this grandmother, was the most significant person in my life. Is this auspicious, or just another beautifully random moment? I don’t know and I don’t care.

What matters is the way you show us how, as Thomas King puts it, “The truth about stories is that that’s all we are.” Or, as Harold R Johnson puts it, “We are all stories. We are the stories we are told and the stories we tell ourselves.”

Thanks for raising the bar.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology offers exactly what it says it will. It is a take on Cherie’s experience with anxiety, panic attacks, and focus on patterns for a sense of control. She delves into when she remembers it taking off in her life as a child and how through stories, because of advice from an elder and guidance from Lee Maracle, she was able to push through with the help of stories.

And I appreciated how she emphasized that you cannot avoid it or stress, and that she allows herself to feel it but to not overwhelm her. I think that’s a realistic and practical approach.

Overall, it was very insightful and gave me a peak into who she is and how that has reflected in the stories of hers that I have read.

[Dessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

GOD, I LOVE A KREISEL LECTURE!!! This one is about rethinking anxiety as a storyteller, because it turns out anxiety is a compelling storyteller. So how can you build better stories than anxiety? And what does that accomplish? Ten out of ten, a million out of a million, and one of the reasons that Kreisel lectures are so so good is that they are curated so beautifully. Dimaline was a perfect storyteller for this series.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Print] An insightful essay/lecture/self-help talk on how we must tell competing stories to combat the narratives spun by our anxiety. The author speaks from a place of personal vulnerability and pulls anecdotes from her life and the stories she's written. While well-structured, a lot of it felt very surface level and sometimes spent time repackaging cliches. Overall, a valuable read for anyone struggling with anxiety, and especially anyone who struggles with anxiety and is a writer.

[Sandy]

Wow. It’s easy enough to understand that some people have anxiety, but this book really reminded me. It’s a good reminder but I also really enjoyed seeing the healthy way in which she deals with it. I’m very happy for her and her writing career. I have loved the stuff of hers that I have read and am excited to read more! Perhaps VenCo or her Secret Garden retelling.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and honest look at living with anxiety - I will read anything that Cherie puts out, and this was just a look at life with anxiety, dealing with imposter syndrome, coping, etc. Enjoyed how this was organized.

[taylor]

Cherie Dimaline has such an incredible way with words, I really enjoyed this exploration of her relationship with anxiety. I definitely plan to look up her lecture and give it a listen.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must read for anyone who has had anxiety as a child!

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where does creativity come from? Sometimes the source is out not so positive perspective and finding a balance between the omnipresent dark and seeking the light.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick and generous lecture on story-telling, mental health, and standing up.
Recommended.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful quick read on coping not just with anxiety but your bad thoughts and how she channels negativity into her creative process.

[Olivia Holt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful insight into the world of anxiety and how to acknowledge your story, reframe it, and use it to have a hopeful future. To anyone struggling with anxiety, I cannot recommend this book enough!

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Also look up the talk she gave as part of the lecture series, it's great!*

[Teresa Mills-Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much to relate to!

[Litter Bug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful and thought-provoking!

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thin edge of the wedge that will gently and poetically open your mind and help you think about such things.

[Maddox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one hurt.

[Shinyfluff · Rating 5 out of 5]

a lyrically written and inspiring discourse on anxiety and managing it using Story and Culture from a Métis writer

[Lolz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dimaline is so sharp with her word choice. This short 40 page book was easy to read and cut right to the point. Her stories were very accessible, it was almost like sitting and having a chat with her. This book strengthened me and I learned something about myself.