Married and divorced in her 20s, looking for friendship in her 30s, and contemplating pregnancy at 40, our narrator wonders if she’s going through life out of order. But Alice, The Turtle, The Kid, and other beloveds show her that motherhood is more than giving birth, art is never finished, and love is not linear.

Through a three-day canoe trip, chance encounters, fierce female friendship, step-parenting, IVF, pandemic isolation, and quiet moments between humans, These Songs I Know By Heart weaves vignettes of everyday mythology into an absorbing and honest meditation on the connections in our lives. With razor-sharp reflection, humour, and most of all love, we are reminded that there’s no formula to life and that instead, we must celebrate what makes the small moments of our lives extraordinary.

ERIN BRUBACHER is a multidisciplinary artist. Her first book of poetry, In the small hours, was published in 2016. Recent theatre projects include: Noor, written by Erum Khan with live music by sitarist Anwar Khurshid and the electronic music duo LAL; the award winning Brubacher/Spooner/Tannahill production of Concord Floral; and Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools, written and performed by Evalyn Parry and Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, for which Brubacher was awarded Best Director by the Toronto Theatre Critics in 2018. Brubacher lives in Toronto.

Erin Brubacher's profile page

"A deeply humane and compassionate compendium of encounter and observation meditating on friendship, motherhood, art making, and home." —Jordan Tannahill, Scotiabank Giller Prize-shortlisted author of The Listeners

“A thoughtful, searching novel about connection and love in all its many forms, from fleeting encounters with strangers to bonds with chosen kin. There is a deep generosity in these reflections on art and friendship, uncertainty and loss, and a beautiful openness to the world. This book left me feeling less alone.” —Aimee Wall, author of We, Jane

“A thoughtful, searching novel about connection and love in all its many forms... There is a deep generosity in these reflections on art and friendship, uncertainty and loss, and a beautiful openness to the world.” —Aimee Wall, author of We, Jane

“Brubacher’s gorgeous new book is a collection of stylish, original and artfully observed sketches of 21st century romance and modern friendship, and her optimism about the tiny beautiful connections we make in life is happy-making. These Songs I Know By Heart is an odd, winsome, and winning piece of writing.” —Hannah Moscovitch, author of Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes

"Brubacher's novel shows off the same flair for dramatic intimacy that makes her such a sought-after collaborator in the theatre world. It's brisk, poetic, relatable read."-The Toronto Star

"A deeply humane and compassionate compendium of encounter and observation meditating on friendship, motherhood, art making, and home." —Jordan Tannahill, Scotiabank Giller Prize-shortlisted author of The Listeners

"Brubacher's novel shows off the same flair for dramatic intimacy that makes her such a sought-after collaborator in the theatre world. It's brisk, poetic, relatable read."-The Toronto Star

“Brubacher’s gorgeous new book is a collection of stylish, original and artfully observed sketches of 21st century romance and modern friendship, and her optimism about the tiny beautiful connections we make in life is happy-making. These Songs I Know By Heart is an odd, winsome, and winning piece of writing.” —Hannah Moscovitch, author of Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes

“A thoughtful, searching novel about connection and love in all its many forms, from fleeting encounters with strangers to bonds with chosen kin. There is a deep generosity in these reflections on art and friendship, uncertainty and loss, and a beautiful openness to the world. This book left me feeling less alone.” —Aimee Wall, author of We, Jane

"These Songs I Know By Heart is like time spent with a good friend—candid, comforting, and inspiring. Erin Brubacher’s spare prose elides the distance between feelings and words, and her sensitive songs are tuned to an artist’s pitch." —Martha Schabas, author of My Face in the Light

“A deeply humane and compassionate compendium of encounter and observation meditating on friendship, motherhood, art making, and home.” —Jordan Tannahill, Scotiabank Giller Prize–shortlisted author of The Listeners

"These Songs I Know By Heart is like time spent with a good friend—candid, comforting, and inspiring. Erin Brubacher’s spare prose elides the distance between feelings and words, and her sensitive songs are tuned to an artist’s pitch." —Martha Schabas, author of My Face in the Light