Book of Lives
Subtitle: A Memoir of Sorts
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Published: Nov 04, 2025
Language: eng
Format: hardcover
Number of pages: 624
ISBN-13: 9780771096433
Description: Raised by scientifically minded parents, Margaret Atwood spent most of each year in the wild forests of northern Quebec, where her entomologist father and independent, resourceful mother created an unfettered and nomadic childhood, sometimes isolated but also thrilling and beautiful.

From this unconventional start, Margaret unfolds the story of her life, linking key moments to the books that have shaped our literary landscape, from the cruel school year that would inspire _[Cat’s Eye](/works/OL675713W)_ to the unease of 1980s Berlin, where she began _[The Handmaid’s Tale](/works/OL675783W)_. In pages alive with the natural world, reading and books, major political turning points, and her lifelong love for the charismatic writer [Graeme Gibson](/authors/OL752684A), we meet poets, bears, Hollywood stars, and larger-than-life characters straight from the pages of an Atwood novel.

As she explores her past, Margaret reveals more and more about her writing, the connections between real life and art—and the workings of one of our very greatest imaginations.