dashadashahi's review against another edition
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
it feels wrong to rate this book, it's heartbreaking, hard to read and incredibly necessary
abby_manry's review
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.
rowangazdewich's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
bookwoman37's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
fast-paced
4.0
This is a short incomplete book, it is really two different stories. One is the Autobiography of Augie. He was an indigenous Canadian sent to a Residential School. His memoir details the abuse he suffered while there. The other part of the book is written by David Carpenter. He tells of Augie's life after the school and his attempts to get him to finish his autobiography. He also provides historical information for the reader. The subject matter is difficult to read and the autobiography portion can be graphic. I learned a lot reading this book. It is an important history that needs to be told.