Gabriel Tait is an insightful writer who is passionate about books, movies and music. He was born and raised in Toronto and has an observational eye for what brings the city to life, and he writes about that through his unique lens. Gabriel has been sober for more than two decades and brings a very intimate, personal and hard-earned understanding of addiction to his writing, bringing a vividness and authenticity to his work. Gabriel and his partner have four kids and live in North Toronto.

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Which ’hood are you in?

I’m in Lawrence Park North. I love this part of the city. It’s quiet without feeling suburban, Yonge Street is right there, the subway is close, and pretty much anything I need is within reach. I’ve lived in Toronto most of my life, so the city has always found its way into my writing. The Ranleigh Tapes especially has a lot of North Toronto in its DNA.

What do you do?

I write novels. Meeks and The Ranleigh Tapes are both pretty character-driven and deal with addiction, recovery, identity and memory, but I don’t really sit down thinking, “I’m going to write about addiction.” I’m more interested in people, how they see themselves, what they avoid, what they remember, what they get wrong, and what happens when all of that starts to shift.

What are you currently working on?

I’m working on the next Ranleigh Meeks novel. It’s set about ten years after The Ranleigh Tapes and finds him in a very different place in his life. I’ll be 25 years sober on October 27, so I’ve been thinking a lot about what recovery looks like over the long haul, what changes, what doesn’t, and how easy it is to start believing you’ve got yourself figured out. That’s a big part of where Ranleigh is when this book begins.

Where can we find your work?

You can find Meeks and The Ranleigh Tapes on Amazon, and both books are also in the local author section at the Indigo in the Yonge Eglinton Centre. There’s more about the books and my writing at gabrieltait.com.