Mi'kmaw Author | Founder, Belonging Ground Press | Indigenous Engagement Strategist
Paula Sevestre is a Mi'kmaw author from Membertou First Nation in Nova Scotia and the founder of Belonging Ground Press. Her writing explores hidden truths, human behaviour, spirituality, and the spaces between what is seen and what is understood.
Her path to fiction began with her own story.
Paula's first three books grew from lived experience and her exploration of intergenerational trauma, healing, resilience, and the complicated journey of learning to trust herself. Writing became a way of examining experiences that were not always easy to understand—or initially easy to tell.
With Shadow of the Healer, Paula moves from non-fiction into psychological suspense. The novel is the first book in the four-book Lex Tocara™ series, where suspense, human behaviour, Indigenous perspectives, spirituality, and the unexplained intersect.
Paula founded Belonging Ground Press as an independent, Indigenous-owned Canadian publishing house and a home for her fiction and non-fiction, with a vision for the press to grow thoughtfully over time.
Beyond her writing, Paula has worked with Indigenous organizations for more than 25 years in partnership development, governance, strategic planning, communications, and organizational leadership. Her work now extends into Indigenous engagement and health research, including her role as Indigenous Engagement Program Lead with the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group, where she conceived and leads Voices in Care.
Paula holds a Graduate Certificate in Public Relations and received the Nova Scotia Native Women's Association's Linda Maloney Award for Entrepreneurship in 2023.
Originally from Unama'ki (Cape Breton), Nova Scotia, Paula now lives on Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation in Ontario with her husband, Mark. Together, they have twin adult sons, Brad and Nate.
Paula's earlier published works include Heaven's Wait (2014), Out From Beneath Your Wings (2016), and The False Healer (2020). The three works were later brought together in The False Healer: The Trilogy.
