Chantal Kreviazuk: 5 books that changed my life
Singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk championed The Right to Be Cold by Sheila Watt-Cloutier on Canada Reads 2017. The book was eliminated after Day Three of the competition.
Below, the platinum-selling artist describes five books that made a significant impact in her life.
Getting the Love You Want by Harville Hendrix
"Getting the Love You Want by Harville Hendrix is one of my all-time favourite books. It set me on a path of understanding how to be a partner and how to communicate. It took my curiosity about the brain a step further."
The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine
"The Female Brain was one of the first books in my life that really made me expand, both in terms of my feminism and in terms of my passion for the brain. It's a wonderful book. I remember my mind being blown when I read it for the first time. I was able to understand and feel compassion for myself, for my partner, and for men that I'd known and grown up with. That was a huge moment for me and it set me on a next-level path of compassion. To this day, I love science. I'm obsessed."
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
"Although it's not often that I read fiction, I'm very open to it. I've had times when I've shut books and had to lay in my bed and just cry for a long time. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway was one of those books."
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
"The Help was such a lovely book. I thought it was so well written and I had a little cry when it was over. It was humorous and I love it when there's humour; the way to a person's heart is through food or humour. But it was important too. The fact that Kathryn Stockett could bring all this light into such a dark place is what keeps you reading even while you find yourself so pissed off about the blatant racism of the time."
The Hope in Leaving: A Memoir by Barbara Williams
"The Hope in Leaving: A Memoir is another book I think it would be great for Canadians to read. Barbara Williams lets a lot of cats out of bags, regarding abuse. There are a lot of historical references to Indigenous people and their suffering. She gets into her own personal perspective on growing up in a dysfunctional family. It spoke to me so much; it's a brilliantly written book. It's very healing, beautiful, poetic, honest and unashamed. I think it's important for people on their own journey to be the best version of themselves and be able to reconcile and forgive the missteps of their parents and to be able to move on. I think that she really wraps that up well."