Genre Fiction
![Lisa Bird-Wilson - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_lisa_birdwilson.jpg)
Probably Ruby: A Novel
An Indigenous woman adopted by white parents goes in search of her identity in this unforgettable debut novel about family, race, and history.
Finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award • "Engaging . . . Ruby never disappoints with her big heart and outrageous sense of humor-and her resilient search for her own history."-The New York Times Book Review
"A passionate exploration of identity and belonging and a celebration of our universal desire to love and be loved."-Imbolo Mbue, author of Behold the Dreamers
This is the story of a woman in search of herself, in every sense. When we first meet Ruby, a Métis woman in her thirties, her life is spinning out of control. She's angling to sleep with her counselor while also rekindling an old relationship she knows will only bring more heartache. But as we soon learn, Ruby's story is far more complex than even she can imagine.
Given up for adoption as an infant, Ruby is raised by a white couple who understand little of her Indigenous heritage. This is the great mystery that hovers over Ruby's life-who her people are and how to reconcile what is missing. As the novel spans time and multiple points of view, we meet the people connected to Ruby: her birth parents and grandparents; her adoptive parents; the men and women Ruby has been romantically involved with; a beloved uncle; and Ruby's children. Taken together, these characters form a kaleidoscope of stories, giving Ruby's life dignity and meaning.
Probably Ruby is a dazzling novel about a bold, unapologetic woman taking control of her life and story, and marks the debut of a major new voice in Indigenous fiction.
Finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award • "Engaging . . . Ruby never disappoints with her big heart and outrageous sense of humor-and her resilient search for her own history."-The New York Times Book Review
"A passionate exploration of identity and belonging and a celebration of our universal desire to love and be loved."-Imbolo Mbue, author of Behold the Dreamers
This is the story of a woman in search of herself, in every sense. When we first meet Ruby, a Métis woman in her thirties, her life is spinning out of control. She's angling to sleep with her counselor while also rekindling an old relationship she knows will only bring more heartache. But as we soon learn, Ruby's story is far more complex than even she can imagine.
Given up for adoption as an infant, Ruby is raised by a white couple who understand little of her Indigenous heritage. This is the great mystery that hovers over Ruby's life-who her people are and how to reconcile what is missing. As the novel spans time and multiple points of view, we meet the people connected to Ruby: her birth parents and grandparents; her adoptive parents; the men and women Ruby has been romantically involved with; a beloved uncle; and Ruby's children. Taken together, these characters form a kaleidoscope of stories, giving Ruby's life dignity and meaning.
Probably Ruby is a dazzling novel about a bold, unapologetic woman taking control of her life and story, and marks the debut of a major new voice in Indigenous fiction.
Editorial Reviews
"In a time when truth is coveted, Probably Ruby is a refreshing reminder of the realities of forced Indigenous adoption and family separation. Bird-Wilson's writing is at times poetic and ever compelling. We are fortunate to have her and Ruby among us."-The Washington Post
"A bighearted portrait of an Indigenous woman whose transracial adoption spurs a lifelong quest to discover-or perhaps create-her identity."-Kirkus Reviews
"A well-paced, alluringly written story [and] a wonderful character study . . . Indigenous authors are creating the most noteworthy books of the year."-Shondaland (10 Must-Read Books by Indigenous Authors)
"An intimate and nuanced illumination of Ruby as a woman surviving in the face of painful family history, colonialism, and patriarchy. Tender, funny, and brimming with the desire to love and be loved, Probably Ruby is a moving narrative about Indigenous identity and belonging."-Electric Literature
"A wonderful book for fans of casually queer novels . . . A kaleidoscopic story about Ruby, an Indigenous woman adopted by white parents, and her search to find herself and her place in the world."-Book Riot
"Writing from the depths of her heart, Lisa Bird-Wilson has gifted us a passionate exploration of identity and belonging and a celebration of our universal desire to love and be loved."-Imbolo Mbue, bestselling and award-winning author of How Beautiful We Were and Behold the Dreamers
"In Probably Ruby, Lisa Bird-Wilson . . . effectively captures the sadness, anger, loneliness, and alienation that Indigenous children lost to the child-welfare system are plagued by as they search for a sense of meaning and identity. By turns raw, tender, funny, despairing, and hopeful, Probably Ruby tells a story that needs hearing."-Michelle Good, author of
"A bighearted portrait of an Indigenous woman whose transracial adoption spurs a lifelong quest to discover-or perhaps create-her identity."-Kirkus Reviews
"A well-paced, alluringly written story [and] a wonderful character study . . . Indigenous authors are creating the most noteworthy books of the year."-Shondaland (10 Must-Read Books by Indigenous Authors)
"An intimate and nuanced illumination of Ruby as a woman surviving in the face of painful family history, colonialism, and patriarchy. Tender, funny, and brimming with the desire to love and be loved, Probably Ruby is a moving narrative about Indigenous identity and belonging."-Electric Literature
"A wonderful book for fans of casually queer novels . . . A kaleidoscopic story about Ruby, an Indigenous woman adopted by white parents, and her search to find herself and her place in the world."-Book Riot
"Writing from the depths of her heart, Lisa Bird-Wilson has gifted us a passionate exploration of identity and belonging and a celebration of our universal desire to love and be loved."-Imbolo Mbue, bestselling and award-winning author of How Beautiful We Were and Behold the Dreamers
"In Probably Ruby, Lisa Bird-Wilson . . . effectively captures the sadness, anger, loneliness, and alienation that Indigenous children lost to the child-welfare system are plagued by as they search for a sense of meaning and identity. By turns raw, tender, funny, despairing, and hopeful, Probably Ruby tells a story that needs hearing."-Michelle Good, author of
Readers Top Reviews
Mona Alvarado Frazie
The blurb: An Indigenous woman adopted by white parents goes in search of her identity in this unforgettable debut novel about family, race, and history. I've read several novels by indigenous writers, and the blurb interested me enough to read this story. I liked the premise, but this wasn't a smooth, cohesive read for me. The timelines and different POVs, in particular, are what distract from the story. Each chapter almost seemed like its own short story instead of a flow from one to the other. This novel highlights important issues: inter-racial adoption, residential schools, and generational trauma. For those who enjoy non-linear stories, this may be the read for them.
DellaVal Lawrence
How to get published in the 21st Century: Have a female protagonist who cusses like a drunken wife beater, because in 2022, being a feminist means acting like the worst sort of man. For the same reason make sure she talks crudely and constantly about sex. Have her experience a whole list of terrible events, because the more bad things happen to her the more wonderful she is. Make her an ethnic minority. Waste no time introducing a stereotypically awful Christian who is, of course, a hypocrite. Because some types of bigotry are cool. Have lots of time jumps because it makes a lack of plot less obvious. If you like this you'll also like, "We Begin at The End," "The Library List," and a hundred other new books.
Kindle
This book is about a woman trying to find her identity, especially as a Native American. That being said, I found it very hard to follow. It jumps back and forth to various years and each chapter is someone's name. It's very confusing and even after finishing, I don't understand who each person is and how all their stories are connected. I probably would have really liked it if it was told differently, such as chronological order.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Kal
2013
...
"I like to be in charge," said Ruby. "I pretend I like watching him jerk off, just so I won't have to touch him. My commitment level's kind of low on this one."
Kal's face showed no emotion. Instead he looked at the sunglasses resting on top of Ruby's head. Kal's office was in the interior of a downtown building and had no windows. Outside, it had been raining for days. He asked, "Is it sunny out there now, Ruby?"
His question made her laugh. She had a royal, attention-getting laugh, big enough to be heard out in Kal's waiting room. Which was good. Ruby wanted anyone out there to know Kal and she were having a great time. Try and top that, sucker. That's what she hoped her laugh said to any waiting client she'd subconsciously pegged as a rival for Kal's affections. And by "anyone" she mostly meant the shiny, obvious "Lori," seen on one occasion leaving his office and stopping to make an appointment on her way out; and, another time, waiting for Kal as Ruby left. In an effort to make him even more uniquely hers, she tried out a variety of nicknames on Kal. "Hey, Mister K," she'd said when she arrived today, to which he just shook his head and smiled, motioning for her to come in. She was pleased to make him smile like that.
Ruby carried on with the chitchat about her new boyfriend. "I say the dirtiest things to him, Kal. To get it over with quicker."
He nodded.
"Why are guys always so turned on by the idea of coming on your face?" she asked, pausing so he could think about that one. Ruby knew Kal was divorced and had recently started dating. He often told her personal things about himself as a way to relate to what she was going through. Because of this, he was her favorite kind of counselor. She listened carefully to his disclosures.
Sometimes she hit it off with a new counselor and sometimes she didn't. She usually gave it two appointments to decide, but honestly, a lot of them only deserved one chance, and even then she'd been known to cut the first hour short.
Take the counselor before Kal: Larry, with the huge wooden cross around his neck. So effing big, as if he was compensating for something. Or dragging it around doing penance. He had a serious Jesus complex, that one. She decided quickly: Jesus-counselor was not going to get the benefit of her attention-he said one thing about the "sanctity of the marriage bed" and she threw up a little bit in her mouth before she fled. After that she made sure to tell the assigning agent at the insurance company that she didn't want "Christian" counseling, thank you very much.
In her experience, the people who stressed things the most or the loudest were the first ones to break their own rules. That's why she always liked to hear one of her counselors say they would "never" date a client. When they said that she couldn't help but think, Great. Now we're getting somewhere.
Ruby always fell for her counselors. That was the point, really. I mean here was this person and they only had eyes and ears for you. How could you not be crazy about that? You got to be in a room alone with someone who listened hard and cared about what you were saying. Ruby was also counselor-monogamous, as far as that went. That was, if monogamy meant one at a time, one after another.
"You're really aware of your anxiety," Kal said during their first or second session. "You just don't quite know how to manage it." He was right. She hated to be alone. She sometimes felt she'd had kids to save her from being alone. But she could still be lonely.
"I'm not all parent," she told Kal once. "I'm a person, too. I'm often selfish and greedy." In some ways, the boys were the only thing, and in other ways she needed so much more to save her from her sadness.
Today Kal and she were four sessions in and she was trying to decide if she would renew with him. That was, if her insurance would allow it. Six was the upper limit on the first assignment, and she got six because "her stepdad died." Which was not really true but, as far as she could tell, insurance companies had no truth-auditing process. She didn't have a stepdad. But if she did he might have died, because he'd have been old, right? Ruby's paren...
2013
...
"I like to be in charge," said Ruby. "I pretend I like watching him jerk off, just so I won't have to touch him. My commitment level's kind of low on this one."
Kal's face showed no emotion. Instead he looked at the sunglasses resting on top of Ruby's head. Kal's office was in the interior of a downtown building and had no windows. Outside, it had been raining for days. He asked, "Is it sunny out there now, Ruby?"
His question made her laugh. She had a royal, attention-getting laugh, big enough to be heard out in Kal's waiting room. Which was good. Ruby wanted anyone out there to know Kal and she were having a great time. Try and top that, sucker. That's what she hoped her laugh said to any waiting client she'd subconsciously pegged as a rival for Kal's affections. And by "anyone" she mostly meant the shiny, obvious "Lori," seen on one occasion leaving his office and stopping to make an appointment on her way out; and, another time, waiting for Kal as Ruby left. In an effort to make him even more uniquely hers, she tried out a variety of nicknames on Kal. "Hey, Mister K," she'd said when she arrived today, to which he just shook his head and smiled, motioning for her to come in. She was pleased to make him smile like that.
Ruby carried on with the chitchat about her new boyfriend. "I say the dirtiest things to him, Kal. To get it over with quicker."
He nodded.
"Why are guys always so turned on by the idea of coming on your face?" she asked, pausing so he could think about that one. Ruby knew Kal was divorced and had recently started dating. He often told her personal things about himself as a way to relate to what she was going through. Because of this, he was her favorite kind of counselor. She listened carefully to his disclosures.
Sometimes she hit it off with a new counselor and sometimes she didn't. She usually gave it two appointments to decide, but honestly, a lot of them only deserved one chance, and even then she'd been known to cut the first hour short.
Take the counselor before Kal: Larry, with the huge wooden cross around his neck. So effing big, as if he was compensating for something. Or dragging it around doing penance. He had a serious Jesus complex, that one. She decided quickly: Jesus-counselor was not going to get the benefit of her attention-he said one thing about the "sanctity of the marriage bed" and she threw up a little bit in her mouth before she fled. After that she made sure to tell the assigning agent at the insurance company that she didn't want "Christian" counseling, thank you very much.
In her experience, the people who stressed things the most or the loudest were the first ones to break their own rules. That's why she always liked to hear one of her counselors say they would "never" date a client. When they said that she couldn't help but think, Great. Now we're getting somewhere.
Ruby always fell for her counselors. That was the point, really. I mean here was this person and they only had eyes and ears for you. How could you not be crazy about that? You got to be in a room alone with someone who listened hard and cared about what you were saying. Ruby was also counselor-monogamous, as far as that went. That was, if monogamy meant one at a time, one after another.
"You're really aware of your anxiety," Kal said during their first or second session. "You just don't quite know how to manage it." He was right. She hated to be alone. She sometimes felt she'd had kids to save her from being alone. But she could still be lonely.
"I'm not all parent," she told Kal once. "I'm a person, too. I'm often selfish and greedy." In some ways, the boys were the only thing, and in other ways she needed so much more to save her from her sadness.
Today Kal and she were four sessions in and she was trying to decide if she would renew with him. That was, if her insurance would allow it. Six was the upper limit on the first assignment, and she got six because "her stepdad died." Which was not really true but, as far as she could tell, insurance companies had no truth-auditing process. She didn't have a stepdad. But if she did he might have died, because he'd have been old, right? Ruby's paren...
