Truth Be Told by Beverley McLachlin

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER, WINNER OF THE WRITERS’ TRUST SHAUGHNESSY COHEN PRIZE, WINNER OF THE OTTAWA BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION

​Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Beverley McLachlin offers an intimate and revealing look at her life, from her childhood in the Alberta foothills to her career on the Supreme Court, where she helped to shape the social and moral fabric of the country—for readers of Educated and Becoming.

From a very early age, all I knew was that I wanted to do something that was not ordinary. Because, for a girl growing up in a remote prairie town in the 1940s, the ordinary was very ordinary indeed.

Beverley McLachlin has led an extraordinary life. One of the few women studying law in the 1960s, she graduated at the top of her class and began her long career—first as a dedicated lawyer and professor, later as a judge serving on the highest court in the country, and finally as the first woman to be named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

The journey wasn’t easy. The options for women growing up in rural Pincher Creek, Alberta, were limited. But McLachlin was willful and spirited, and she wanted an education. She also had an innate sense of justice, which was reinforced by the lessons her parents taught her about equality and the value of hard work. It was this faith in justice that pulled her through dark times, especially when faced with sexism and exclusion at work and personal tragedy at home.

Paperback, 384 pages

Beverley McLachlin was the Chief Justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the first woman to hold that position and the longest-serving Chief Justice in Canadian history. Her memoir, Truth Be Told, was an instant bestseller and won the prestigious Writers’ Trust Shaughnessy Cohen Prize and the Ottawa Book Award for Nonfiction. Her debut novel, Full Disclosure, which introduced readers to Jilly Truitt, was a #1 national bestseller and was shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Best First Crime Novel Award. In 2018, McLachlin became a Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest honour within the Order. 

Over time, McLachlin became a champion for Canadians from all walks of life. As a judge on the Supreme Court, she presided over charged debates on topics such as same-sex marriage, euthanasia, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. With each judgment, she laid down a legal legacy proving that fairness and justice are not luxuries of the powerful but rather rights owed to each and every one of us.

With warmth, honesty, and deep wisdom, McLachlin recounts her remarkable life on and off the bench. Truth Be Told is an inspiring reminder that integrity and the rule of law are our best hopes for a progressive and bright future.