The Snag: A Mother, a Forest, and Wild Grief

Winner of the 2026 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature
Winner of the 2026 Guyana Prize for Nonfiction
Finalist for the 2025 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize
A Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year

In her memoir The Snag, the acclaimed, award-winning author of Shame on Me, Tessa McWatt, takes on personal and collective grief, and the solace and inspiration to be found in connecting with nature--and each other.

Every day, we hear about and experience griefs, large and small, in our families, friendships, communities, and worldwide. The grief of a loved one passing. The grief of a way of life ceasing to exist. The grief of global pandemic, war, climate collapse.

As her mother's dementia advances and she can no longer live independently, Tessa McWatt confronts personal and political losses, and finds herself wandering in a forest asking, how do we grieve? And what can we learn from nature and those whose communities are rooted in nature about not only how to grieve but also how to live?

From the newest seedling to the oldest snag in the forest, there is meaning to be found in every stage of a tree's life, all of which contribute to a thriving forest community. In this forest thinking, Tessa begins to find answers to her questions about how to live (for each other), how to grieve (radically), and how to die (with love and connection).

The Snag is an essential book about living and dancing and singing and praying, even in the face of unimaginable sadness, and in this way, growing together and supporting one another, like the trees in the forest.