Mailhot is hardly a nobody today, but she sought to carve a name for herself in the literary world on her own terms. Growing up, Mailhot drew inspiration from “any poetry could comprehend,” including Emily Dickinson’s “I am nobody who are you?” She memorized and recited the poem, which reads “I’m Nobody! Who are you? / Are you-Nobody-Too?” and laments over the dreariness of being “somebody.” While she didn’t know it at the time, this writing would eventually grow into “Heart Berries,” Mailhot’s collection of essays about growing up on British Columbia’s Seabird Island Reservation, grappling with her own mental health struggles, her heritage and her relationship with her parents. Those are some of the first words that Terese Marie Mailhot jotted down in her journal while undergoing treatment in a mental hospital a few years ago. “I feel stuck in something feminine and ancestral in its misery.” Our January pick for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times book club “Now Read This” is Terese Marie Mailhot’s memoir “Heart Berries.” Become a member of the book club by joining our Facebook group, or by signing up to our newsletter.
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