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gjohnson129's review
4.0
4.5 stars
A short read that summarizes perfectly the horrors of what occurred in these residential schools.
A short read that summarizes perfectly the horrors of what occurred in these residential schools.
novelesque_life's review
3.0
RATING: 3 STARS
(I received an ARC from the NETGALLEY in exchange for an honest review.)
(Not On Blog)
I picked this book up at the library as I have always been interested in knowing more about Aboriginal culture. Growing up in Canada, we did hear about Residential schools and the horrors behind it. It was not long in the history that this happened, and like other race and cultural atrocities it seems unimaginable that this is reality. This is a really short book, and that was one of the reasons I did not give this book a higher rating. I felt like you got a snippet of a story and are longing to know more context. It feels like a found diary.
What worked for me was that it was told by a survivor and that it is such an important story to share. You can't put a rating on an experience, but despite this being a short book, the impact is vast. It is not an easy read...and that is a great thing as it does make you uncomfortable in a good way. You should be upset over what Augie and his peers went through.
(I received an ARC from the NETGALLEY in exchange for an honest review.)
(Not On Blog)
I picked this book up at the library as I have always been interested in knowing more about Aboriginal culture. Growing up in Canada, we did hear about Residential schools and the horrors behind it. It was not long in the history that this happened, and like other race and cultural atrocities it seems unimaginable that this is reality. This is a really short book, and that was one of the reasons I did not give this book a higher rating. I felt like you got a snippet of a story and are longing to know more context. It feels like a found diary.
What worked for me was that it was told by a survivor and that it is such an important story to share. You can't put a rating on an experience, but despite this being a short book, the impact is vast. It is not an easy read...and that is a great thing as it does make you uncomfortable in a good way. You should be upset over what Augie and his peers went through.
act_10's review
5.0
Who knew this short, little, tiny book could be so, SO powerful? Such an amazing insight into a survivor’s story of the Residential School system. Augie’s voice is so brilliantly clear throughout the memoir. He may not be an acclaimed author, but his honesty is so unwavering and beyond a doubt. Every Canadian should read this book.
dashadashahi's review
5.0
This was a brief, but far from an easy read. A reader really feels for Augie and his life experience, no matter how brief and (at first) disconnected his retellings are. He provides excruciating detail in many of his stories which serve as a poignant reminder as to what academics and government officials mean when they refer to the "sexual abuse" that occurred in residential schools. I am left wondering about David Carpenter's relationship with Augie. His unwillingness to visit Augie and record his life story felt a bit odd to me, especially when considering the importance of oral history and storytelling for Indigenous peoples, healing, survivorship, and reconciliation as a whole. Nonetheless, it is hard to say based on the little information available and I applaud Carpenter to keeping the work as true to Augie's work as he claims he has done.
livrad's review
4.0
Augie Merasty's story is just one of the 150,000 stories of First Nations, Inuit and Métis children who were taken from their families and forced into government- and Catholic Church-sanctioned Indian Residential Schools meant to stript them of their native culture and language in an effort to "assimilate" them.
At times, Augie's story was emotionally difficult to read, as it includes multiple instances of physical and sexual abuse that were the constant of his childhood after entering the St. Therese Residential School at the young age of 5. Still, his voice remains genuine, extremely affable, sometimes humorous, and hopeful. At age 86, it was no small feat to finally publish his memoir, having struggled with alcoholism, homlessness, living without electricity, and the remarkable story of even having a bear break into his home and eat his entirely handwritten manuscript.
Augie's story came on my radar when it was originally published, but this updated version includes a reader's guide, which is really helpful when discussing it in a class format.
The Education of Augie Merasty should be required reading for anyone interested in Indigenous/First Nation history, Canadian history, and truth and reconciliation.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the access to this audiobook to review.
At times, Augie's story was emotionally difficult to read, as it includes multiple instances of physical and sexual abuse that were the constant of his childhood after entering the St. Therese Residential School at the young age of 5. Still, his voice remains genuine, extremely affable, sometimes humorous, and hopeful. At age 86, it was no small feat to finally publish his memoir, having struggled with alcoholism, homlessness, living without electricity, and the remarkable story of even having a bear break into his home and eat his entirely handwritten manuscript.
Augie's story came on my radar when it was originally published, but this updated version includes a reader's guide, which is really helpful when discussing it in a class format.
The Education of Augie Merasty should be required reading for anyone interested in Indigenous/First Nation history, Canadian history, and truth and reconciliation.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the access to this audiobook to review.
lasdald's review against another edition
3.0
I’d heard really great things about this book, so I’d wanted to like it. But I felt a lot of time was spent on the story of the co-author chasing down Augie (many times rather half-heartedly) and very little on Augie’s actual story. It feels like such a missed opportunity to actually get to know Augie; HIS story beyond just a few of the experiences at residential school. What was he like as a child? What were his experiences before, in the times away from, and after residential school? His experiences at residential school are important and obviously need to be written about, but we aren’t told much about him as a person, which is really unfortunate.
emilyschmidt's review
it feels wrong to rate this book, it's heartbreaking, hard to read and incredibly necessary
abby_manry's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Very hard, real story. Important to know the history of residential schools. Some of the editor's notes and additions weren't great and pulled away from the main narrative.