Published September 2024 by Linda Leith Publishing
Anna is no victim.
Her life derailed when she blacked out at a high school party and woke up as the new school slut, but she’s left all that behind, embracing her addictions and her bad reputation.
Helen is no freak.
Back in high school, her best friend Anna abandoned her with no explanation, but now she’s a makeup expert, hiding her port wine stain under careful layers of cosmetics.
Now Anna’s back home in Guelph for her dad’s retirement party, counting the days until she can leave. Then a meeting with her ex-best friend Helen raises unexpected questions: What really happened at that New Year’s party back in high school? How true were all those ugly rumours? With Helen at her side, Anna can finally reckon with her past and chart a course towards a better future.
Moving through rape culture, beauty myths, and the perils women face in a society that stigmatizes them, Other Maps traces a path to courage, solidarity and hope.
UPCOMING EVENTS
RECENT EVENTS & APPEARANCES
Sunday, December 7, 2025, 1-2pm: I’ll be signing copies of Other Maps at the 2025 Read Quebec Book Fair at the Casa d’Italia at 505 Jean-Talon E, Montreal.
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 7-9pm: “Two Rebeccas Reading & Talk” at Argo Bookshop in Montreal. Join me and Rebecca Pāpucaru as we discuss writing, books and feminism. I’ll also be reading from Other Maps and Rebecca Pāpucaru will be reading from her debut novel As Good A Place As Any (Guernica Editions, 2025).
Friday, September 26, 2025, 5-7pm: A triple book birthday bash at Phoenix Books to celebrate the one year anniversary of Other Maps, Voice Lessons by Eve Krakow (Guernica Books) and Colours in Her Hands by Alice Zorn (Freehand Books). Featuring short readings, interviews, Q&A, books for sale and birthday cupcakes.
Finding the Right POV, with Rebecca Morris: Guest appearance on The Resilient Writers Radio Show with Rhonda Douglas, June 19, 2025. Listen to the full 19-minute episode here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2077625/episodes/17346215 or read the transcript of the show here: https://resilientwriters.com/podcasts/finding-the-right-pov/
PRAISE FOR OTHER MAPS
“Other Maps is the first novel by accomplished short-story writer Rebecca Morris, and it realistically and sensitively portrays the anxieties and intensity of being a twenty-something dealing with personal trauma and uneasy relationships. […] In dealing directly and straightforwardly with teenage sexual abuse, Morris is trying not just to peel back the curtain of shame that drapes the victims, but also give strength of purpose to those victims in their efforts to come to terms with such all-together too frequent trauma. An important book on a very difficult subject.”
“Morris does a good job of arousing the reader’s curiosity. Will Anna be able to overcome her demons? Will she find out the truth, and if so, what will she do with that knowledge? Along the way, who will close ranks, and who will be forthcoming? Who will support her in her quest, and who will turn away? The answers aren’t always what we might expect, and that’s part of the book’s appeal.
In the end, Other Maps is a book about seeking the truth. Anna’s experiences illustrate the lasting impact of painful events. The book also explores family dynamics. Other Maps is not always a comfortable read, which is perhaps part of the point. But there is a hopeful undertone and a conclusion that makes the journey worthwhile.”
Lisa Timpf, The Seaboard Review
“Morris may steer readers outside their comfort zone, yet her debut novel has grip, the road rich with unexpected twists. Here, friendship is a life-saving light on a young woman’s quest for truth in the aftermath of sexual assault.
Readers are kept on edge as Anna journeys into the most painful and perilous stretches of her memory. As she turns to face her trauma head-on, one wonders if revenge is her only route forward, or if another path will emerge. Come what may, Helen and Anna stick up for one another, validating each other’s experiences. Mutual empathy fosters self-compassion, and their outer worlds begin to shift in surprising ways, reflecting rising levels of self-respect. Satisfyingly, Other Maps closes on what feels more like an opening, an upward trajectory defined by dignity and release, providing a clear, window-seat view of the restorative powers of friendship.”
“Although its characters and events are fictional, Guelph writer Rebecca Morris sets her debut novel, Other Maps, in the Royal City and features local landmarks, both past and present. Now living in Montreal, Morris relives some of the most memorable hangouts in her hometown including the Bookshelf Café, the Hillside Festival, the Albion, the Trasheteria, Exhibition Park and Stone Road Mall.”
Barbara Latkowski, GuelphToday.com: “Remembering Guelph’s Past in New #Metoo Movement Novel”
“Other Maps is a propulsive novel that explores just how fraught the lives of young women can be. From the dangers that plague girlhood to the uncertainties of adulthood, Rebecca Morris beautifully writes how we reckon with our pasts, fight for acknowledgement, and stumble into, hopefully, better futures.”
Jen Sookfong Lee, author of Superfan
“A beautiful exploration of sisterhood, memory and the stories we tell ourselves, Other Maps is both timely and timeless. With a sharp eye for detail and a deep empathy for the messiest among us, Morris gives us a friendship that you will never forget.”
Julie Lalonde, author of Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde
“A novel wired with the kind of pain we think we can’t live without. Morris is empathetic and explicit about the costs of healing in this exciting, intelligent debut.”
Paige Cooper, author of Zolitude
Book Club Discussion Questions for Other Maps:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
* I’m grateful to everyone who helped me to write and publish this book! If your copy of Other Maps is missing my acknowledgements page, you can read it below:
Rebecca Morris 