A Year of Books

For some reason, I struggled to open State of Terror, the first book club read of 2022. Perhaps it was my lack of focus in the New Year, competing priorities or just that I am not usually drawn to political thrillers… but once I got started, it was a compelling story with plot twists in the midst of political diplomacy, terrorism and mystery.

In true Louise Penny style, it felt like the reader was getting to know the characters and even Gamache made an appearance from Three Pines, Quebec!

I loved learning more about the genesis of this book from their acknowledgements at the end and had not realized that Penny and Clinton were friends. It is interesting to note that a number of character names are based on their own friends.

I am looking forward to chatting about this book… despite that fact that we will be back to virtual book club this week!

Unreconciled is the first book written by Jesse Wente. As a reformed commuter, I enjoyed listening to Matt Galloway on CBC’s Metro Morning and hearing the weekly movie reviews from Wente. At the time, I had no idea that the Toronto movie critic was Anishinaabe and a member of the Serpent River First Nation. I had no idea of his childhood experiences of racism, growing up in Toronto.

This book is well-written, thoughtful and leaves a reader reflecting on privilege, truth and way forward “to build the country that Canada has always aspired to be – the one it pretends to be – one that recognizes the inevitable failure built into colonialism, one that recognizes Indigenous sovereignty as crucial to the realization of Canadian sovereignty“. Readers can reflect on his words that “This is the Canada our ancestors envisioned when the signed pease and friendship treaties: a collective of nations, living as they want, sharing the land mutually” and consider how we can all do our part to learn and move towards this vision.

Unreconciled is a book for all Canadians to read, it is one man’s reflection of his experience and he has been careful to reinforce that his experience is not THE Indigenous experience yet it does resonate with others.

Wente says that the way forward is through truth and I am committed to learning and sharing the books that make me think, reassess, reflect.

Unreconciled was a great first read of 2022 and I encourage others to read and reflect! Feel free to add your comments below!

I have taken a bit of a break from this blog… life has been busy BUT reading continues to be my source of pleasure, learning and source of reflection. My 2022 reviews may not be as comprehensive as past years but I am refreshing A Year of Books to share some of the amazing reads of 2022.

As we struggle through another year of a pandemic, we can share in some wonderful books, look forward to sunny days and focus on kindness, learning and a joy of reading!

Feel free to comment below, add suggestions and share your thoughts on the reads of 2022!!

Canada Day has been celebrated by my family for many years. As children, my brothers and I would pile into the back of the Thunderbird and we would head to Port Dover for a parade, waving our flags and eagerly waiting on the sidewalk for candy to be thrown out from the floats or cars full of local politicians. When our children were young, we continued the tradition, decked out in red shirts and maple leaf tattoos, stopping for an ice cream on the way home. As a lifelong learner, the more that I read, the more that I understand about the past, the pride of celebrating July 1st has been tarnished.

Am I a proud Canadian? Yes… But… Is Canada a great place to live? Yes… BUT… it also has a dark past which I am committed to continue to learn about. All Canadians need to learn and understand the continued impacts of colonialism including the stereotypes and racism which my family and I have benefited from as a white settlers.

As many of you know, I generally celebrate Canada Day with Canadian books. I celebrate stories written by Canadians, about Canada, and have been reading diversely. Books written by First Nations, Inuit and Metis people have opened my eyes to experiences like residential schools, colonialism and the generational trauma that I never learned in school in the 70s and 80s. I am thankful to have read amazing fiction like the books listed below (click on the links below to read former blog posts about these books or follow me on Goodreads to learn about books that may be missing a blog post):

• Birdie
• Indian Horse
• Ragged Company
• Monkey Beach
• The Break
• The Marrow Thieves
• The Barren Ground
• Jonny Applseed
• Motorcycles and Sweetgrass
• Crow River
• Moon Over Crusted Snow
• Celia’s Song

Reading this fiction started my learning and led me to some impactful non-fiction that is information that all Canadians must learn, understand as we work towards the goals of truth and reconciliation for a better future together including care and kindness instead of judgement. Here are some books to learn from:

• Seven Fallen Feathers
• From the Ashes
• Up Ghost River
• Half Breed
• One Story, One Song
• 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act
• The Reason You Walk
• for Joshua
• Heart Berries

These are not exhaustive lists but a few of the books that I have read and would recommend to learn more about Indigenous experiences in Canada.

You may wonder what I am reading today? After I participate in the Unity March to the Mohawk Institute (sign up for a virtual tour here), I will continue rereading Medicine Walk by the late Richard Wagamese. If you have not read this book, it is a must read (as is EVERY book written by this amazing author). It is my favourite book and one that I recommend to EVERYONE! Richard Wagamese was a powerful storyteller. His stories weave bits of his own experiences and evidence of his generational trauma which he also shares in his non-fiction books.

Here is my review of Medicine Walk from June 2016:

“The wisest ones got taught more.  Our people.  Starlights.  We are meant to be teachers and storytellers.  They say nights like this bring them teachin’s and stories back and that’s when they oughta be passed on again”

Medicine Walk, the 7th novel by Richard Wagamese, is a beautifully written, Canadian story that needs to be shared.  It is a quiet tale of loss, love, life and death taking place in the British Columbia interior through the eyes of a young boy learning about his family on a journey through the wilderness and through the past.  It is the coming of age story of Franklin Starlight who accompanies his estranged father, Eldon, to his final resting place.

Franklin learned the ways of the land from the old man.  He lived with him on the farm,  learning his work ethic, his quiet way of living and his understanding of the life on the farm.  Eldon appeared and visited at odd intervals, always struggling with his addiction to alcohol and his turmoil within.  The boy was curious about his father but the old man patiently left Eldon to tell his own story, in his own time.

As Franklin approached manhood, his father reached out and made an important, life changing request.  The pair travelled through the wilderness, their journey including a trip through Eldon’s past as Franklin learned about his heritage, about his family and about the mother he had never known.  The story is poignant and riveting and the reader can picture the view as Eldon’s history unwinds.

Medicine Walk will remain with the reader after the pages are finished.  The characters come to life and the reader can picture them in their mind.  It is a story where a lifetime of pain is dulled by addiction and stories are shared during a difficult journey.  It is a story that should be essential to the high school curriculum.

According to Quill and Quire, Wagamese grew up in Northern Ontario and spent his childhood in foster homes.  His Ojibway family could not care for him after their experience in residential schools.  He was adopted by an abusive family and it is reported that he ran away to a life of alcohol and drugs when he was 16 years old.  It was inspiring to read that the author “may never have become a writer, were it not for the kindness of a group of librarians in St. Catharines, Ontario, where he stumbled into the public library at the age of 16, seeking shelter and refuge from a life on the streets” (CBC Radio interview).  Wagamese drew on his own experiences with alcoholism and estrangement from his own boys when writing this gripping story.

Medicine Walk is the first book that I have read by Wagamese but it will not be my last.  He has a gift of storytelling and I admire his tenacity and ability to share some of his own experiences with the reader.  He is an example of the importance of reading, and how libraries are essential parts of a community responsible for sharing a love of books which open doors to the future!!

“It’s all we are in the end.  Our stories.”

Seven Fallen Feathers is a book that ALL Canadians need to read. The book tells the story of seven students who moved to Thunder Bay to attend high school and died. It also describes the impacts and experiences of systemic impacts of colonialism, residential schools and generational trauma.

Here are excerpts of a slide deck with the information that was discussed at an office book club that I lead. it has details about the seven students, the communities that they came from and the generational impacts of residential schools.

Seven Fallen Feathers remembers these seven students who were loved, had much potential and had travelled up to 500 km away from their families just to attend secondary school which was not available in their own communities. Some of these communities were only accessible by flight or winter roads. Imagine the culture shock to move away from your families to board with other people, not having ever seen a street light or been to a city. Rest In Peace:

• Kyle Morrisseau
• Jordan Wabasse
• Curran Strang
• Jethro Anderson
• Robyn Harper
• Reggie Bushie
• Paul Panacheese

It is important to know you province and country, I challenge you to learn about First Nations communities in Ontario:

Did you know that there are 133 First Nations Communities in Ontario?

Did you know that there are 630 First Nations Communities in Canada?

It is important to learn more about the communities in Canada. Here are a couple slides to share the beauty of Mishkeegogamang First Nation.

As part of our learning, we also learned more about the legacy of generational trauma from Indian residential schools.

Did you know?

• An estimated 150, 000 children attended residential schools
• 6000 children are estimated to have died
• 130 schools were across Canada from 1831 to 1997
• The Mohawk Institute in Brantford was open in 1831
• The Gordon residential school was the last one to close in 1996

You can take a virtual tour of the Mohawk Institute for a donation to the Save the Evidence campaign. It is a heartbreaking walk through the building with stories told by survivors. I am thankful that my children have spent time learning at the Woodland Cultural Centre on school trips as this did not happen when I was in elementary or secondary school.

Tanya’s book also shares the resilience of communities that had already lost so much, coming together to search for the students, to support each other through the inquest and celebrates the art of Norval Morrisseau, Christian Morrisseau (see the book cover) and Kyle Morrisseau. It is a great reminder to check out the beautiful art.

I have read Seven Fallen Feathers twice. As we read the news of the discovery of bodies on the grounds of residential schools across Canada, I think of what I have learned from Seven Fallen Feathers. It is so important to listen and learn so if you have not read this book, I would recommend it. It is a difficult read but readers have the privilege of putting it down, taking a break unlike these students and their families who cannot take a break.

Have you read Seven Fallen Feathers? If so, what are your take aways?

What books have you learned from?

Hi all, my blog has been dormant as life has been busy and although I have been reading, I have just been adding brief reviews to my Goodreads account. Today, I need to speak up and share some of the books, written by Indigenous authors, that I have learned from over the past 5 years.  

It is now a time to learn more about the devastating genocide, loss of culture and generational trauma that is a shameful, dreadful part of Canadian history.  Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, I did not learn about Indian Residential schools or Indian Hospitals.  I live along the Grand River, near to Six Nations yet learned nothing about the Mohawk Institute and had no idea of the specific plans to assimilate and eradicate First Nations, Metis and Inuit people.  

When I want to learn, I turn to books so I am choosing to share some beautiful prose that will help readers learn about the dreadful past, racism and abuse but also about resilience, culture, love, relationships and healing.

Stories are a starting point to learning and gaining empathy, they help us to understand and open our minds.  They encourage further learning, am I going to share some of the books that I have read and would recommend, to others, to help understand the tragedy and the generational trauma that continues to reverberate in Canada.

Today’s instalment will highlight the late, Richard Wagamese, who is my favourite author. His stories remain with me and I am sorry that he is an author that I never had a chance to meet. He wove his own history into his fiction with his powerful words and openly shared his own story in his non-fiction books.

Below are links to previous blog posts discussing his books. Learn more by clicking on the titles below:

Medicine Walk

Indian Horse

One Story One Song

Ragged People

One Native Life

Embers

For Joshua

“See the important thing about our stories isn’t so much the listening, it’s the time  you spend thinking about them.  There’s lots of traditional thinking buried deep within each story and the longer you spend thinking about it the more you learn about yourself, your people and the Indian way” (Richard Wagamese in The Keeper’n Me).

What books have you learned from? What stories resonate with you?

27.  American Dirt (Cummins, Jeannie)

Despite the raging controversy, American Dirt is a difficult book to put down. It starts with unbelievable violence that leaves Lydia and her son with one option, to take their chances on La Bestia (riding the rails) to escape the cartel which is searching for them.  The violence truly takes your breath away and leaves the reader feeling anxious and distraught as they race to the end, hoping for a positive outcome!

Lydia and her son try leave behind their grief and save themselves along with a motley group of migrants, each with their own devastating story. The price for their escape is high and the story includes rape, murder, theft and trauma…  I will never walk over a bridge without imagining these characters leaping down onto the top of a moving train!

While some have identified stereotypes within the text, the story does open readers to the experience of migrants as they gamble everything, including their lives, for a better life.  In the times of the “build a wall” American President (and I struggle to refer to that man as “president”), this book details the humanity and desperation of migrants through well-researched fiction that helps readers to have empathy for the refugees seeking a better life.

26.  Woman on the Edge (Bailey, Samantha M)

This mystery begins when a woman is frantically, handed a baby in a train station.  When she looks up she sees the woman, dead on the track.  Was it postpartum depression or was there a sinister plot? This novel will keep readers second guessing what is happening almost until the end.

For a debut novel, it was well written and suspenseful. It was a great palate cleansing read and can be read in a day.  The main character makes some decisions that leave the reader scratching their head but it is fiction and if you ignore a few of these choices, you will get carried away in the mystery.

25.  The Toll (Shusterman, Neal)

I begrudgingly finished the final book in this trilogy.  I love to read along and discuss books with  the kids and started this series when my son read The Scythe for a grade 7 project.

The Scythe was a terrific tale, I enjoyed the second book but the finale seemed to fall apart.  It was a challenge to keep reading to the end but perhaps YA readers would have a different experience.

I would have liked to chat with my son about the challenges faced by Citra and Rowan, in The Toll,  but he only finished the first book of the series.

Not being a big fan of watching TV, I do think that this series would make a great movie trilogy!

24.  Rick Mercer Final Report

Who doesn’t love a great Rick Mercer rant?  The are are fun to watch and fun to read!  The rants are short, sarcastic and funny.  Written for him to orate in 90 seconds they are each 2-3 pages long and many focus on politics.

I had been looking for a lighter read from a Newfoundland author (after The Wake and Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club) and my friends on the CanadianContent group succeeded with a great suggestion.

I loved reading the sections describing his collaboration with Canadian singer, Jann Arden as well as the time that he spent with Pierre Berton as the 90 year old taught Canadians to roll a joint… and kept the extra weed!

This is a great book to read between more serious tomes… just reading a couple of rants a day is a fun reflection on Canadian politics and issues over the last decade.

23.  Radicalized (Doctrow, Cory)

Radicalized was my last Canada Reads book and it was not an easy book for me to finish (or start, if I am honest) but it certainly was thought provoking.  It seemed prescient in a time when the world is struggling with homelessness, COVID19, cancer, racism and the disparity between the rich and the poor.

This book is a collection of 4 short stories and would likely be excellent fodder for book club discussions.  It is thoughtful and was well-written despite not being my go to genre.

As readers are aware, Canada Reads was postponed due to COVID19 (which feels like its’ own short story) and the debates will start on July 20th!  It will be interesting to see how this collection fares amongst strong fiction and a harrowing memoir.

22.  Thunderhead (Shusterman, Neal)

After reading The Scythe along with my son who was reading this with his class, I kept going with the series.  I enjoyed the characters and the story helped me ponder a society where people can be fixed to the point of immortality.  Of course, the world can only support so many individuals so the solution is to glean!

I enjoyed the next instalment in the trilogy and look forward to The Toll. Reading YA is a relaxing type of read, with good fiction and an easier pace when the world which seemed the right choice as early March had us contemplating a potential pandemic.

21.  Flowers for Algernon (Keyes, Daniel)

Flowers for Algernon is a thought-provoking story of Algernon (a mouse) and Charlie Gordon (a man with intellectual disabilities) who both experience increases in their intelligence following experimental surgeries. The character of Charlie is so vividly described as he learns about himself, reflects on past experiences, writes case notes and struggles to learn how to interact and live in his world with his new abilities to think and learn.

The book, published in 1966, uses the vernacular of a different time. As a child of the seventies, I recall classrooms called TR room, standing for the “the trainably retarded” and am glad that we no longer uses terms like “retard“, “retardate” and “moron” to describe individuals as they did in this book (and commonly a few decades ago).

My friend recommended this book, recalling that she enjoyed it in grade 10 (in the eighties) and it would be a great book to discuss in relation to understanding and treating others with compassion and respect. It was written in a time when students were segregated based on ability, unlike today where there are blended classrooms.

It is interesting to note that the author worked with students with special needs and was impacted by a student asking for help to “be smart“. According to wikipedia, it was rejected by 5 publishers and was originally written as a short story and later expanded to a novel. By 2004, it had sold over 5 million copies and been published in 27 languages. It was made into a film called Charly which won an Academy Award for best actor.