Listen free for 30 days
-
The Break
- Narrated by: Michaela Washburn
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $34.82
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
2017 Burt Award for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Literature Finalist
Winner, Amazon.ca First Novel Award
Winner, Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction
Winner, Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award
Winner, McNally Robinson Book of the Year
A Canada Reads 2017 finalist
National Bestseller
2016 Governor General's Literary Award Finalist
2016 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize Finalist
National Post 99 Best Books of the Year
CBC Best Canadian Debut Novels 2016
Globe and Mail Best 100 Books of 2016
Quill & Quire Book of the Year
Kobo Best Books of the Year
Walrus Magazine The Best Books of 2016
49th Shelf Books of the Year
When Stella, a young Métis mother, looks out her window one evening and spots someone in trouble on the Break - a barren field on an isolated strip of land outside her house - she calls the police to alert them to a possible crime.
In a series of shifting narratives, people who are connected, both directly and indirectly, with the victim - police, family, and friends - tell their personal stories leading up to that fateful night. Lou, a social worker, grapples with the departure of her live-in boyfriend. Cheryl, an artist, mourns the premature death of her sister Rain. Paulina, a single mother, struggles to trust her new partner. Phoenix, a homeless teenager, is released from a youth detention centre. Officer Scott, a Métis policeman, feels caught between two worlds as he patrols the city. Through their various perspectives a larger, more comprehensive story about lives of the residents in Winnipeg's North End is exposed.
A powerful intergenerational family saga, The Break showcases Vermette's abundant writing talent and positions her as an exciting new voice in Canadian literature.
You may also enjoy...
-
Life in the City of Dirty Water
- A Memoir of Healing
- Written by: Clayton Thomas-Muller
- Narrated by: Clayton Thomas-Muller
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There have been many Clayton Thomas-Mullers: The child who played with toy planes as an escape from domestic and sexual abuse, enduring the intergenerational trauma of Canada's residential school system; the angry youngster who defended himself with fists and sharp wit against racism and violence, at school and on the streets of Winnipeg and small-town British Columbia; the tough teenager who, at 17, managed a drug house run by members of his family, and slipped in and out of juvie, operating in a world of violence and pain.
-
-
Both insightful snd hopeful
- By Debra Ransom on 2024-10-09
Written by: Clayton Thomas-Muller
-
Five Little Indians
- A Novel
- Written by: Michelle Good
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention. Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn’t want them.
-
-
great book, needs better narration
- By Tawny McC on 2020-09-15
Written by: Michelle Good
-
Firekeeper's Daughter
- Written by: Angeline Boulley
- Narrated by: Isabella Star LaBlanc
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug.
-
-
Trigger Warning Please!
- By Kali Bomberry on 2021-04-21
Written by: Angeline Boulley
-
Moon of the Crusted Snow
- A Novel
- Written by: Waubgeshig Rice
- Narrated by: Billy Merasty
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again.
-
-
Enjoyable for ALL Canadians
- By TheMer on 2020-01-31
Written by: Waubgeshig Rice
-
Jonny Appleseed
- A Novel
- Written by: Joshua Whitehead
- Narrated by: Joshua Whitehead
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A tour-de-force debut novel about a Two-Spirit Indigiqueer young man and proud NDN glitter princess who must reckon with his past when he returns home to his reserve. “You're gonna need a rock and a whole lotta medicine” is a mantra that Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, repeats to himself in this vivid and utterly compelling debut novel by poet Joshua Whitehead.
-
-
Y gay?
- By Anonymous User on 2022-12-14
Written by: Joshua Whitehead
-
Son of a Trickster
- Written by: Eden Robinson
- Narrated by: Jason Ryll
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone knows a guy like Jared: the burnout kid in high school who sells weed cookies and has a scary mom who's often wasted and wielding some kind of weapon. Jared does smoke and drink too much, and he does make the best cookies in town, and his mom is a mess, but he's also a kid who has an immense capacity for compassion and an impulse to watch over people more than twice his age, and he can't rely on anyone for consistent love and support, except for his flatulent pit bull, Baby Killer (he calls her Baby) - and now she's dead.
-
-
Excellent Story
- By sannna on 2017-12-18
Written by: Eden Robinson
-
Life in the City of Dirty Water
- A Memoir of Healing
- Written by: Clayton Thomas-Muller
- Narrated by: Clayton Thomas-Muller
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There have been many Clayton Thomas-Mullers: The child who played with toy planes as an escape from domestic and sexual abuse, enduring the intergenerational trauma of Canada's residential school system; the angry youngster who defended himself with fists and sharp wit against racism and violence, at school and on the streets of Winnipeg and small-town British Columbia; the tough teenager who, at 17, managed a drug house run by members of his family, and slipped in and out of juvie, operating in a world of violence and pain.
-
-
Both insightful snd hopeful
- By Debra Ransom on 2024-10-09
Written by: Clayton Thomas-Muller
-
Five Little Indians
- A Novel
- Written by: Michelle Good
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention. Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn’t want them.
-
-
great book, needs better narration
- By Tawny McC on 2020-09-15
Written by: Michelle Good
-
Firekeeper's Daughter
- Written by: Angeline Boulley
- Narrated by: Isabella Star LaBlanc
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug.
-
-
Trigger Warning Please!
- By Kali Bomberry on 2021-04-21
Written by: Angeline Boulley
-
Moon of the Crusted Snow
- A Novel
- Written by: Waubgeshig Rice
- Narrated by: Billy Merasty
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again.
-
-
Enjoyable for ALL Canadians
- By TheMer on 2020-01-31
Written by: Waubgeshig Rice
-
Jonny Appleseed
- A Novel
- Written by: Joshua Whitehead
- Narrated by: Joshua Whitehead
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A tour-de-force debut novel about a Two-Spirit Indigiqueer young man and proud NDN glitter princess who must reckon with his past when he returns home to his reserve. “You're gonna need a rock and a whole lotta medicine” is a mantra that Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, repeats to himself in this vivid and utterly compelling debut novel by poet Joshua Whitehead.
-
-
Y gay?
- By Anonymous User on 2022-12-14
Written by: Joshua Whitehead
-
Son of a Trickster
- Written by: Eden Robinson
- Narrated by: Jason Ryll
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone knows a guy like Jared: the burnout kid in high school who sells weed cookies and has a scary mom who's often wasted and wielding some kind of weapon. Jared does smoke and drink too much, and he does make the best cookies in town, and his mom is a mess, but he's also a kid who has an immense capacity for compassion and an impulse to watch over people more than twice his age, and he can't rely on anyone for consistent love and support, except for his flatulent pit bull, Baby Killer (he calls her Baby) - and now she's dead.
-
-
Excellent Story
- By sannna on 2017-12-18
Written by: Eden Robinson
-
Monkey Beach
- A Novel
- Written by: Eden Robinson
- Narrated by: Noelle Kayser
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As she races along Canada's Douglas Channel in her speedboat - heading toward the place where her younger brother Jimmy, presumed drowned, was last seen - 20-year-old Lisamarie Hill recalls her younger days. A volatile and precocious Native girl growing up in Kitamaat, the Haisla Indian reservation located 500 miles north of Vancouver, Lisa came of age standing with her feet firmly planted in two different worlds.
-
-
Lived inside the story
- By Krow Fischer on 2018-08-14
Written by: Eden Robinson
-
Unbroken
- My Fight for Survival, Hope, and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls
- Written by: Angela Sterritt
- Narrated by: Angela Sterritt
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Unbroken is an extraordinary work of memoir and investigative journalism focusing on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, written by an award-winning Gitxsan journalist who survived life on the streets against all odds.
-
-
Informative and powerful
- By Robin Anderson on 2023-09-15
Written by: Angela Sterritt
-
A Two-Spirit Journey
- The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder (Critical Studies in Native History, Book 18)
- Written by: Ma-Nee Chacaby, Mary Louisa Plummer
- Narrated by: Marsha Knight
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Two-Spirit Journey is Ma-Nee Chacaby’s extraordinary account of her life as an Ojibwa-Cree lesbian. From her early, often harrowing memories of life and abuse in a remote Ojibwa community riven by poverty and alcoholism, Chacaby’s story is one of enduring and ultimately overcoming the social, economic, and health legacies of colonialism.
-
-
Amazing audio!
- By Desiree McCarthy on 2023-04-13
Written by: Ma-Nee Chacaby, and others
-
Becoming Kin
- An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future
- Written by: Patty Krawec, Nick Estes - foreword
- Narrated by: Patty Krawec
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The invented history of the Western world is crumbling fast, Anishinaabe writer Patty Krawec says, but we can still honor the bonds between us. Settlers dominated and divided, but Indigenous peoples won't just send them all "home." Weaving her own story with the story of her ancestors and with the broader themes of creation, replacement, and disappearance, Krawec helps listeners see settler colonialism through the eyes of an Indigenous writer.
-
-
A Wise Author, Wisdom Filled Book
- By Amazon Customer on 2024-10-13
Written by: Patty Krawec, and others
-
Red River Girl
- The Life and Death of Tina Fontaine
- Written by: Joanna Jolly
- Narrated by: Penelope Rawlins
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On August 17, 2014, the body of 15-year old runaway Tina Fontaine was found in Winnipeg's Red River. It was wrapped in material and weighted down with rocks. Red River Girl is a gripping account of that murder investigation and the unusual police detective who pursued the killer with every legal means at his disposal. The audiobook, like the movie Spotlight, chronicles the behind-the-scenes stages of a lengthy and meticulously planned investigation. It reveals characters and social tensions that bring vivid life to a story that made national headlines.
-
-
Hard to Hear but Important
- By Trillium25 on 2020-07-14
Written by: Joanna Jolly
-
Indian Horse
- A Novel
- Written by: Richard Wagamese
- Narrated by: Jason Ryll
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Saul Indian Horse is in critical condition. Sitting feeble in an alcoholism treatment facility, he is told that sharing his story will help relieve his agony. Though skeptical, he embarks on a heartbreaking journey from the present - and into the woods of Northern Ontario, where his life began in a snowy Ojibway camp. The tale that follows is one of great pain and great determination from Richard Wagamese, an author who "never seems to waste a shot" ( New York Times).
-
-
Heart wrenching and Humbling
- By Anonymous User on 2018-11-11
Written by: Richard Wagamese
-
The Line Becomes a River
- Dispatches from the Border
- Written by: Francisco Cantú
- Narrated by: Francisco Cantú
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Francisco Cantú, the border is in the blood: His mother, a park ranger and daughter of a Mexican immigrant, raised him in the scrublands of the Southwest. Driven to understand the hard realities of the landscape he loves, Cantú joins the Border Patrol. He and his partners learn to track other humans under blistering sun and through frigid nights. They haul in the dead and deliver to detention those they find alive. Plagued by a growing awareness of his complicity in a dehumanizing enterprise, he abandons the patrol for civilian life.
-
-
Very Well Written and Researched.
- By Buffalo Al on 2023-03-05
Written by: Francisco Cantú
-
A Thousand Ships
- A Novel
- Written by: Natalie Haynes
- Narrated by: Natalie Haynes
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen. From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war.
-
-
Not happy
- By MoonShyne on 2021-06-01
Written by: Natalie Haynes
-
Restoring the Kinship Worldview
- Indigenous Voices Introduce 28 Precepts for Rebalancing Life on Planet Earth
- Written by: Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows), Darcia Narváez PhD
- Narrated by: Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows), Darcia Narváez PhD, Sage Ryan
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Indigenous worldviews, and the knowledge they confer, are critical for human survival and the wellbeing of future generations. Editors Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows) and Darcia Narvaez present 28 powerful excerpted passages from Indigenous leaders, including Mourning Dove, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Winona LaDuke, and Xiuhtezcatl Martinez.
-
-
Antidote to colonial systems
- By Vanessa L. on 2024-05-25
Written by: Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows), and others
-
Who Is Wellness For?
- An Examination of Wellness Culture and Who It Leaves Behind
- Written by: Fariha Róisín
- Narrated by: Fariha Róisín
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The multi-disciplinary artist and author of Like a Bird and How to Cure a Ghost explores the commodification and appropriation of wellness through the lens of social justice, providing resources to help anyone participate in self-care, regardless of race, identity, socioeconomic status or able-bodiedness.
-
-
Very insightful and well expressed
- By Amazon Customer on 2022-09-16
Written by: Fariha Róisín
-
In My Own Moccasins
- A Memoir of Resilience
- Written by: Helen Knott
- Narrated by: Helen Knott
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Helen Knott, a highly accomplished Indigenous woman, seems to have it all. But in her memoir, she offers a different perspective. In My Own Moccasins is an unflinching account of addiction, intergenerational trauma, and the wounds brought on by sexual violence. It is also the story of sisterhood, the power of ceremony, the love of family, and the possibility of redemption.
-
-
Heart-wretchingly Honest
- By Julia Mark on 2021-12-12
Written by: Helen Knott
-
Keeper'n Me
- Written by: Richard Wagamese
- Narrated by: Deneh'Cho Thompson, Sam Bob
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Garnet Raven was three years old, he was taken from his home on an Ojibway Indian reserve and placed in a series of foster homes. Having reached his mid-teens, he escapes at the first available opportunity, only to find himself cast adrift on the streets of the big city. Having skirted the urban underbelly once too often by age 20, he finds himself thrown in jail. While there, he gets a surprise letter from his long-forgotten native family. The sudden communication from his past spurs him to return to the reserve following his release from jail.
-
-
Beautiful
- By Krow Fischer on 2019-04-23
Written by: Richard Wagamese
Related Collections
What listeners say about The Break
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 2018-03-20
Every Canadian must read
This is a book that will break your heart and mend it over and over again. It shouldn't be avoided for fear of the tragedy in it, but embraced and experienced for the necessity of the perspective and truth in it. It is as devastating and difficult as it is and compassionate, gentle and soothing. Every Canadian should read this authentically and lovingly told story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Alexandra Daignault
- 2018-01-29
Devastating and Breathtaking
This book has been on my to reads for a long time. It absolutely broke me when I read it; however, it is an important and necessary read for all Canadians. The book tackles issues of lateral violence and intergenerational trauma, and comes with a trigger warning. I would highly recommend this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lyndsey
- 2020-09-23
Everyone needs to read or listen to this book!
As a Canadian, it’s important we understand this very important and special culture and work to educate ourselves. This book helped me understand a bit better about my second cousins, who are proud Blackfoot. I am so glad I was able to listen to this story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jessica
- 2018-05-10
Beautiful story of sisterhood
Sad but beautiful story of several generations of women who hold one another up through some terrible experiences. The narration is amazing and really brought the characters to life. Only con is that story is perhaps a little bit slow-moving.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Debra Marsters
- 2020-03-17
Wow!
Such a talented and courageous writer, and the narrator was perfect from start to finish.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Almond Park
- 2020-02-19
Enthralling
The narrator does a beautiful job of catching the characters' different voices. I picked up a print version after listening to the audiobook in a couple of days, but I have not read it yet, and fear it could not be as good as the audiobook. The performance was gripping, dramatic, engaging, and suspenseful. Each character's voice is single, distinct, and memorable. The story has an episode of horrifying violence at its core. One of the puzzles in a first experiencing of the novel is the weird way that violence almost risks being contained too easily -- part of the novelist's brilliance is to take you inside the mind of the perpetrator. Tastes differ, but I found the performance entirely engaging.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Janet Hughes
- 2020-02-19
Excellent!
I bought this book on a whim but it ended up being an excellent book as it was written and performed very well.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 2022-10-10
love
this book is about love
the eagle represents love, the eagle flies high and sees everything, close to the creator, who knows everything and why.
this book is about strong women, holding each other up, loving and forgiving each other and themselves.
this book is about strong men, acting quietly in the back ground, making the women stronger.
this book is about truth, respect, humility, courage , honesty, wisdom and love.
this book is about understanding, and that sometimes we can never fully understand.
I fell in love with each character in this book, all important pieces of this great family, the universal family, the family where everyone has their own unique space to fill. we are all little children, if we are victim or the harmful person, this is only for a moment, people change, circumstances change .we will be both at some point in our lives.
life is precious
just breathe
and we all can heal
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michelle
- 2019-11-21
A Real Gem
I was thoroughly engrossed in this book. I liked the way it took the characters and told of the story from their perspective, it worked very well. I found the story to be sad but with hope and happiness there too,
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Erin
- 2020-06-06
A must read
I am so glad I finally listened to this book. The story is both heartbreaking and beautiful. A story about family, resilience, and understanding other's paths. The narration is fantastic, as is the writing.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!