A debut short story collection from one of Canada’s most exciting new Indigenous voices. “In our family, it was Trish who was Going To Be Trouble; I was Such a Good Girl.” At times haunting, at times hilarious, Just Pretending explores the moments in life that send us down pathways predetermined and not-yet-forged. These are the liminal, defining moments that mark irreversible transitions of girl to mother, confinement to freedom, wife to murderer. They are the melodramatic car-crash moments of the outcomes both horrific and too fascinating to tear our eyes from. And they are the unnoticed, infinitely tiny moments, seemingly insignificant (even ridiculous) yet holding the power to alter, to transform, to make strange. What links these stories is a sense of characters working both with success and without, through action or reaction to separate reality from perception and to make these moments into their lives’ new truths.

Book Club Questions/Discussion

Praise for Just Pretending

“…the stories and characters are so alive, and the writing is so beautiful in its stripped-down simplicity. And it is not all darkness—there are plenty of characters in tough situations who exhibit the insight, ironic wittiness, and random joy that, again, real people in tough situations experience.” Amy Mitchell, The Temz Review

“Bird-Wilson brilliantly exposes the Metis experience in a way that’s both critical and loving, but she also universalizes the struggles of her characters across race, gender and age. Lisa Bird-Wilson is a talented writer whose stories are deep and difficult, darkly amusing and always touching. Just Pretending is a collection that is not to be missed.” – PRISM Magazine

“Bird-Wilson hides nothing. Her language is precise and minimalistic. That is not to say her writing is simple. Her words are expertly crafted, poetic even. Bird-Wilson speaks withan inviting voice, drawing us into each tale.” Devin Pacholik, Pages and Patches

Reviews for Just Pretending:

https://www.thetemzreview.com/amy-mitchell—review-of-lisa-bird-wilsons-just-pretending.html
https://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2013/11/powerful-and-troubling/
https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/just-pretending
https://journals.openedition.org/ces/2207
https://leaderpost.com/entertainment/local-arts/a-one-book-one-province-pick-lisa-bird-wilsons-short-story-collection-is-about-a-search-for-identity