The Evolution of Alice

Alice is a single mother raising her three young daughters on the rez where she grew up. Life has never been easy, but she's managed to get by with the support of her best friend, Gideon, and her family. When an unthinkable loss occurs, Alice is forced to confront truths that will challenge her belief in herself and the world she thought she knew. Peopled with unforgettable characters and told from multiple points of view, this is a novel where spirits are alive, forgiveness is possible, and love is the only thing that matters. Reissued with a new story by David A. Robertson and foreword by Shelagh Rogers.

About the Author :
David A. Robertson (he/him/his) is a two-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Award, has won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, as well as the Writer's Union of Canada Freedom to Read award. He has received several other accolades for his work as a writer for children and adults, podcaster, public speaker, and social advocate. He was honoured with a Doctor of Letters by the University of Manitoba for outstanding contributions in the arts and distinguished achievements in 2023. He was nominated for the 2026 Hans Christian Anderson Award. He is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and lives in Winnipeg. Shelagh Rogers is a veteran broadcast-journalist, currently host and co-producer of CBC Radio’s The Next Chapter, devoted to writing in Canada. She is an honorary witness to the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2016, she was awarded the inaugural Margaret Trudeau Award for Mental Health Advocacy. She holds honorary doctorates from eight Canadian universities and is Chancellor of the University of Victoria. Shelagh is of Métis and Scottish ancestry. Her great-grandmother Edith Rogers was the first Michif woman, and the first woman, elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. Edith was from Norway House, where David A. Robertson’s family has deep roots.

Review :
Robertson weaves seemingly separate points of view into a chorus of voices that sings our lost ones home. The Evolution of Alice is a story that uplifts, a tragedy not unusual but freshly told, and a read that will echo long after you’ve put it down.  Robertson writes feelingly of casual cruelties and everyday kindnesses. The novel follows… overlapping, sometimes unexpected connections of family and community, but it is held together by Robertson’s own voice, which is immediate, unflinching, and emotionally generous. I felt I was holding my breath as I read, because of the great sorrow, mysteries, wisdom, and love in this book. Beautifully written, and such memorable characters! Pulsing at the heart of this novel are the warmly rendered inflections of storytelling voices like Gideon’s, at once reflective, vivid, and vernacular. And at the novel’s core, the broken but ultimately healing rhythms of Alice’s 'evolution'—her cycles of loving and suffering, of her family’s living, dying, and ultimately hoping to live anew — bring contemporary experience on the reservation and in the big city achingly, joyfully, and always pungently alive. So many Manitobans have, like a character in an early chapter, only sped by reserves on the highway. Inviting us into a rich community of characters, which stretches deeper than the headlines most of us associate with reserve life, Robertson is doing a service to everyone who calls Manitoba home. And crafting an engaging story of one family’s recovery from loss—at a time when Indigenous peoples are increasingly flexing political, economic and cultural muscle in this country—is a gift for everyone hoping for a better future for our divided country…