Vancouver’s Greystone Books announced today it has acquired a new work by Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May, set to be published late next year.

The untitled book is being billed as a marriage of memoir and manifesto, in which May reflects on her upbringing and earliest experiences as an activist. (As a child, she warned her classmates against eating snow because it contained the radioactive isotope Strontium-90.) The book traces her coming of age while working as a cook on Cape Breton Island and eventually enrolling in law school.

In the manifesto portions of the book, May argues that Canada must strengthen its democracy and develop a green economy.

Elizabeth May has dedicated her adult life to her strong social and environmental beliefs. Knowing where those beliefs came from is to know a passionate and complex Canadian,” says Greystone publisher Rob Sanders.

May has published seven non-fiction titles. Her most recent book is Losing Confidence, which was published by McClelland & Stewart in 2009.