pricklybriar's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. Augie’s story is important, and I’m glad that the acclaim his memoir received has helped raise awareness about residential schools in Canada. Even today, I think a number of Canadians are in denial of the atrocities committed by governments and churches against Indigenous children, which ultimately amount to genocide.
However, I’m troubled by how his recollections were edited by David Carpenter. Carpenter is initially quite dismissive of Augie’s request for help in writing his memoir, and at no point after deciding to do so does he take steps to facilitate Augie’s telling of his story. Rather than coming to his cabin, as Augie initially asks him to do, he maintains a decade long phone/written correspondence and meets him in person only once before he must finally track him down again to sign the contract for his manuscript to be published. Considering how much distance Carpenter put between himself and Augie, I wonder why he decided to edit his memoir to begin with?
I think Carter also expresses some problematic ideas around assimilation/integration of Indigenous peoples in his introduction. For instance, hoping that First Nations writes will some day recover from intergenerational religious trauma to attend one of his writers’ retreats that is held in an abbey. If he really valued the perspectives of Indigenous writers, could he not advocate for a retreat to be held in a setting that is less hostile to them? There are more examples of this, but I found this to be one that really exemplifies the editor’s reluctance to engage with his privilege or participate in meaningful reconciliation if it inconveniences him.
In my edition, Carpenter ties up his postscript by saying that this isn’t so much a narrative of Europeans enforcing their will on First Nations people, but “the common humanity of people locked in a classic struggle to save their children from the evils of coercion, abuse, and cultural extinction”. As if this is something all Canadians have and equal grasp of. I think Carpenter really missed the mark here and demonstrates a limited understanding of the specific reasons residential schools were created and how their legacy continues to be perpetuated through over representation of Indigenous children in care. This is not only misguided, but also insidious in its underselling of the the responsibility Canadians should feel to participate in repairing the damage done by residential schools.
Augie’s story is moving and deeply personal. I really wish that so much of my bandwidth in reading this account hadn’t been absorbed by Carpenter’s mishandling of it.
However, I’m troubled by how his recollections were edited by David Carpenter. Carpenter is initially quite dismissive of Augie’s request for help in writing his memoir, and at no point after deciding to do so does he take steps to facilitate Augie’s telling of his story. Rather than coming to his cabin, as Augie initially asks him to do, he maintains a decade long phone/written correspondence and meets him in person only once before he must finally track him down again to sign the contract for his manuscript to be published. Considering how much distance Carpenter put between himself and Augie, I wonder why he decided to edit his memoir to begin with?
I think Carter also expresses some problematic ideas around assimilation/integration of Indigenous peoples in his introduction. For instance, hoping that First Nations writes will some day recover from intergenerational religious trauma to attend one of his writers’ retreats that is held in an abbey. If he really valued the perspectives of Indigenous writers, could he not advocate for a retreat to be held in a setting that is less hostile to them? There are more examples of this, but I found this to be one that really exemplifies the editor’s reluctance to engage with his privilege or participate in meaningful reconciliation if it inconveniences him.
In my edition, Carpenter ties up his postscript by saying that this isn’t so much a narrative of Europeans enforcing their will on First Nations people, but “the common humanity of people locked in a classic struggle to save their children from the evils of coercion, abuse, and cultural extinction”. As if this is something all Canadians have and equal grasp of. I think Carpenter really missed the mark here and demonstrates a limited understanding of the specific reasons residential schools were created and how their legacy continues to be perpetuated through over representation of Indigenous children in care. This is not only misguided, but also insidious in its underselling of the the responsibility Canadians should feel to participate in repairing the damage done by residential schools.
Augie’s story is moving and deeply personal. I really wish that so much of my bandwidth in reading this account hadn’t been absorbed by Carpenter’s mishandling of it.
sjklass's review against another edition
4.0
Debut author Joseph Augustus 'Augie' Merasty is in his mid 80's and often living on the streets, despite offers of shelter from family, battling alcoholism, cancer and other health challenges. He approached the University of Saskatchewan to work with a scribe to document his experiences at St Therese Residential School from 1935-1944 (ages 5-14). Through letters and phone calls to Professor David Carpenter, Augie acknowledges Brothers and Sisters who were kind and caring but also abuses of power and cruelty of others. "I was once made to walk about twenty miles in -40f weather with fellow student, Abner Joseph, back to where we'd walked the day before....just because we lost one mitten each. We were very nervous and scared all the way, as we were only eleven or twelve years old at the time. We came back without the lost mittens as the wind and snow had covered everything that could be lost. We, of course, got the strap, twenty strokes on both hands". His testimonial was also used as evidence for the TRC. A shocking, heartbreaking and important read.
bound4travel's review against another edition
4.0
Short but powerful, The Educational of Angie Merasty consists of letters written to Merasty's editor in which Merasty recounts the horrific years he spent in residential school. This memoir was very short, but that didn't limit the impact in any way. Merasty, in simple and straightforward terms, places before us the traumas he endured at the hands of the individuals he was forced to interact while separated from his family. Beyond the primary trauma of being removed from your family and culture, Merasty endures abuse, witnesses the abuse of others, and clearly depicts the hopelessness that takes one over when there is no escape from your trauma. It is incredibly moving and incredibly sad, and so very important for us to read and inform ourselves about in the hope that we prevent history from ever repeating itself.
I did dock one point, as I didn't particularly connect with the introduction and conclusion written by Merasty's editor. He seemed to focus on the details of tracking Merasty down and getting information from him. Although he did provide some updates on Merasty's current life situation and how trauma has impacted him long term, I felt like the introduction and conclusion served primarily to remind us of how much work the editor put in to having this memoir come together and, in my opinion, that takes away from the true point of this book.
I did dock one point, as I didn't particularly connect with the introduction and conclusion written by Merasty's editor. He seemed to focus on the details of tracking Merasty down and getting information from him. Although he did provide some updates on Merasty's current life situation and how trauma has impacted him long term, I felt like the introduction and conclusion served primarily to remind us of how much work the editor put in to having this memoir come together and, in my opinion, that takes away from the true point of this book.
liralen's review against another edition
3.0
This is one of those books that's really hard to rate, because on the one hand the story is part of a hugely important (and not often enough talked about) area of Canadian history...but on the other hand, the book doesn't do all that much to set itself apart as a literary gem. I think that when I picked it up, I was hoping that its slim size would herald some kind of spare, elegant prose; the reality is rather more complicated.
The Education of Augie Merasty is a work of collaboration. As co-author David Carpenter describes in the introduction, Merasty wrote to the University of Saskatchewan (where Carpenter had ties) to request the help of an English professor in writing his memoirs of his time at a residential school. Carpenter agreed to work on the project, but on his own schedule and terms: rather than go up to speak with Merasty and get his story and put it into writing, he asked that Merasty write down his story and send it to Carpenter, who would revise and organise and so on. Thus began an on-and-off partnership that lasted, from the sounds of it, for years, with Carpenter waiting for more of Merasty's fractured writing and occasionally trying by phone or mail to track him down.
I'm left with a sort of unpleasant sense of how the project went down. Carpenter had no personal obligation to Merasty, of course (except that he'd agreed to take on this project), but I wonder how the manuscript might have been different, and what other material might have been included, had he worked a bit more on Merasty's terms/turf. Five years after Carpenter had last heard from Merasty, he submitted what he calls 'my manuscript' (65) for publication and went looking for Merasty to get his formal permission to publish, and I don't understand why this was what it took for him to seek out Merasty in person.
I suspect that, with more direction (and direct questioning), this could have been a more structured, conventional memoir. Does it need to be? Well, no. There are others. There's value in simply adding voices to the testimony of 'this happened to me and this happened to my people'. This ends up being a voice in that litany: a story of abuse after abuse, physical and emotional and sexual abuse. Merasty's stories often focus on one nun or priest, his captors at the residential school, and the ways in which they did or did not abuse their charges. I wonder: what was his life like at home? What was his family like? What was the daily routine at the school? Was there any effort to educate the children kept there? Under what circumstances did Merasty leave the school, and what happened then? What about the other children? What about these nuns and priests, and how did they go from presumably well-intentioned so-called servants of god to these roles as captors? These aren't all questions that had to be answered here, but I'm left feeling that there was much more here left to be said. It's a useful part of a terribly sad history, but not one that can easily stand on its own.
The Education of Augie Merasty is a work of collaboration. As co-author David Carpenter describes in the introduction, Merasty wrote to the University of Saskatchewan (where Carpenter had ties) to request the help of an English professor in writing his memoirs of his time at a residential school. Carpenter agreed to work on the project, but on his own schedule and terms: rather than go up to speak with Merasty and get his story and put it into writing, he asked that Merasty write down his story and send it to Carpenter, who would revise and organise and so on. Thus began an on-and-off partnership that lasted, from the sounds of it, for years, with Carpenter waiting for more of Merasty's fractured writing and occasionally trying by phone or mail to track him down.
I'm left with a sort of unpleasant sense of how the project went down. Carpenter had no personal obligation to Merasty, of course (except that he'd agreed to take on this project), but I wonder how the manuscript might have been different, and what other material might have been included, had he worked a bit more on Merasty's terms/turf. Five years after Carpenter had last heard from Merasty, he submitted what he calls 'my manuscript' (65) for publication and went looking for Merasty to get his formal permission to publish, and I don't understand why this was what it took for him to seek out Merasty in person.
I suspect that, with more direction (and direct questioning), this could have been a more structured, conventional memoir. Does it need to be? Well, no. There are others. There's value in simply adding voices to the testimony of 'this happened to me and this happened to my people'. This ends up being a voice in that litany: a story of abuse after abuse, physical and emotional and sexual abuse. Merasty's stories often focus on one nun or priest, his captors at the residential school, and the ways in which they did or did not abuse their charges. I wonder: what was his life like at home? What was his family like? What was the daily routine at the school? Was there any effort to educate the children kept there? Under what circumstances did Merasty leave the school, and what happened then? What about the other children? What about these nuns and priests, and how did they go from presumably well-intentioned so-called servants of god to these roles as captors? These aren't all questions that had to be answered here, but I'm left feeling that there was much more here left to be said. It's a useful part of a terribly sad history, but not one that can easily stand on its own.
jeanettesonya's review against another edition
5.0
A quick but oh so hard and heavy read. Augie and his story will stay with me forever. Five stars not because this book is particularly well written or eloquent, but rather because it's a crucially important story for us to read and acknowledge as truth in a step toward reconciliation.
readwithrhys's review against another edition
5.0
Disclaimer: I read this book because of my history class titled "Native Peoples of Canada since 1867". It was required reading for my research essay based on residential schools.
I don't know how to rate this, so I am just giving it 5 stars. How do I say that this memoir, a book about someone's life in residential schools, is not worth 5 stars? I can't.
This memoir has opened my eyes because the Canadian government covers up so much stuff when it comes to what happened in residential schools. In order for us to get information, we have to read memoirs or read essays or textbooks AFTER primary school. This memoir shows me how much the Canadian government wants to keep this part of our history covered for eternity.
The memoir itself brings readers to see what happened in residential schools through the eyes of Augie. We see first hand how some Sisters, Brothers and Fathers were not bad people, they just thought that Indigenous peoples were "savages" needing "saving". Not only were some good people, we see the bad ones. We see first hand the abuse that happens, physical, psychological, and sexual.
This memoir in general really just showed me how much I sometimes despise the Canadian government when it comes to the reconciliation aspect towards Indigenous peoples. It shows that no money can help what happened to them. It shows that the government needst to do more to show citizens just how cruel our seemingly "nice" government can do.
I don't know how to rate this, so I am just giving it 5 stars. How do I say that this memoir, a book about someone's life in residential schools, is not worth 5 stars? I can't.
This memoir has opened my eyes because the Canadian government covers up so much stuff when it comes to what happened in residential schools. In order for us to get information, we have to read memoirs or read essays or textbooks AFTER primary school. This memoir shows me how much the Canadian government wants to keep this part of our history covered for eternity.
The memoir itself brings readers to see what happened in residential schools through the eyes of Augie. We see first hand how some Sisters, Brothers and Fathers were not bad people, they just thought that Indigenous peoples were "savages" needing "saving". Not only were some good people, we see the bad ones. We see first hand the abuse that happens, physical, psychological, and sexual.
This memoir in general really just showed me how much I sometimes despise the Canadian government when it comes to the reconciliation aspect towards Indigenous peoples. It shows that no money can help what happened to them. It shows that the government needst to do more to show citizens just how cruel our seemingly "nice" government can do.