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kimcheel's review against another edition
4.0
As I read more memoirs and books by Indigenous authors, especially Canadian, I become even more aware of the need for Reconciliation. I appreciate the emotional labour done by these authors so people like me can be better informed.
In this book, I especially appreciated the detail about sundance - something I knew next to nothing about. Thank you for sharing those experiences.
In this book, I especially appreciated the detail about sundance - something I knew next to nothing about. Thank you for sharing those experiences.
rocketbride's review against another edition
"I told him how sad it was that I could speak Ojibwe to someone my age in jail but had never done so in university."
amn028's review against another edition
3.0
I don't read a lot of autobiographies but I love Wab Kinew and was very interested in this story. It was more than a biography. The topics covered his father's life, his life and the struggles of indigenous life in Canada with the residential,schooling system and reconciliation attempts. I enjoyed that the book followed all of these tangents. The feelings Wab describes after watching his father die is very relatable for anyone who has gone through a similar process. The book allows us to learn more about one residential school survivor and how this experience affected all those in his life.
baffy's review
5.0
What an inspiring book, I couldn’t put it down. Honest about the damage done by the Residential School system, the Canadian Government and the Catholic Church but so hopeful about the possibility of true Reconciliation.
Another book that should be on every high school curriculum but especially for Catholic schools.
Kinew lets us on on the sacred celebration of the Sundance and contrasts it beautifully with the canonization ceremony for St Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Indigenous saint. His father’s ability to ultimately forgive the Church for its sins against him, makes him saintly in his own right but when the author shows his continued doubt, he gives the reader an opening to join him on the journey.
We need a path to forgiveness and Kinew gives me hope for that possibility. The path starts with education and acceptance of the wrongs done before we can pray for that forgiveness.
Kinew shows that Reconciliation is possible although not easy. Hopefully we Canadians will take the journey with him going forward.
Another book that should be on every high school curriculum but especially for Catholic schools.
Kinew lets us on on the sacred celebration of the Sundance and contrasts it beautifully with the canonization ceremony for St Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Indigenous saint. His father’s ability to ultimately forgive the Church for its sins against him, makes him saintly in his own right but when the author shows his continued doubt, he gives the reader an opening to join him on the journey.
We need a path to forgiveness and Kinew gives me hope for that possibility. The path starts with education and acceptance of the wrongs done before we can pray for that forgiveness.
Kinew shows that Reconciliation is possible although not easy. Hopefully we Canadians will take the journey with him going forward.
hilaryjsc's review against another edition
5.0
I started this the day before my mother-in-law was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Sometimes the right book finds you at the right moment and you can only be grateful.
loribeth1961's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Several years back, I took note of a polished and personable young Indigenous journalist for CBC television, based out of Winnipeg, in my home province of Manitoba. (He also worked for CBC Radio.) His name was Wabanakwut (Wab) Kinew, and I was amused to learn that, pre-journalism, he'd been a rap/hiphop artist. In 2015, he penned a memoir, "The Reason You Walk," which became a national bestseller.
Since then, Kinew entered provincial politics. He was elected to the Manitoba Legislature in 2016 and chosen leader of the provincial (leftist) New Democratic Party in 2017. He served as Leader of the Opposition and then, in a provincial election late last month, he became Premier, at the relatively youthful age of 41. He is Canada's first provincial premier of First Nations descent, and Manitoba's first Indigenous premier since Métis Premier John Norquay in 1887. He was sworn in wearing a traditional feathered headdress that had belonged to his late father, Tobasonakwut.
I already had a copy of "The Reason You Walk" in my gargantuan "to read" pile, and immediately moved it up in the queue. :)
Kinew's relationship with his father forms the core of this book, which begins with his father's story. Tobasonakwut was born on a reservation/First Nation in northwestern Ontario, and was a survivor of the infamous residential school system (which I wrote about here). Although he later attended university and became a respected academic and politician, the anger and grief that still consumed him ultimately strained his relationship with his children, fathered by several different women, including Wab's mother, a white woman from Toronto.
Young Wab followed in his father's footsteps, in more ways than one. He mostly grew up and attended school in Winnipeg, but spent summers in the forests of northwestern Ontario and travelling with his father to the U.S. to attend sundances and learn more about his heritage. Unfortunately, like his father, he learned to numb his pain and anger with alcohol and drugs, and had several encounters with the law (some that he writes about here and others he didn't that have been reported) before he eventually turned his life around and came to terms with his father before he died. Their story is set against the progress made by Canada's Indigenous peoples over the span of their lifetimes.
(Kinew's opponents in the latest election tried to make an issue of his past run-ins with the law. He chose to address them head on in a major campaign speech about crime prevention.)
The book is written in clear, straightforward language. The pace is slow, but the story is moving -- especially the last few chapters. It would be a good choice if you're looking to learn more about Indigenous life and culture in Canada today, about the lingering, multi-generational effects of the residential school system -- and/or about a rising young star in the Canadian politics. I sure learned a lot, and I will be watching with interest to see where he and his government take my home province -- and my country -- over the next few years.
4 stars
Since then, Kinew entered provincial politics. He was elected to the Manitoba Legislature in 2016 and chosen leader of the provincial (leftist) New Democratic Party in 2017. He served as Leader of the Opposition and then, in a provincial election late last month, he became Premier, at the relatively youthful age of 41. He is Canada's first provincial premier of First Nations descent, and Manitoba's first Indigenous premier since Métis Premier John Norquay in 1887. He was sworn in wearing a traditional feathered headdress that had belonged to his late father, Tobasonakwut.
I already had a copy of "The Reason You Walk" in my gargantuan "to read" pile, and immediately moved it up in the queue. :)
Kinew's relationship with his father forms the core of this book, which begins with his father's story. Tobasonakwut was born on a reservation/First Nation in northwestern Ontario, and was a survivor of the infamous residential school system (which I wrote about here). Although he later attended university and became a respected academic and politician, the anger and grief that still consumed him ultimately strained his relationship with his children, fathered by several different women, including Wab's mother, a white woman from Toronto.
Young Wab followed in his father's footsteps, in more ways than one. He mostly grew up and attended school in Winnipeg, but spent summers in the forests of northwestern Ontario and travelling with his father to the U.S. to attend sundances and learn more about his heritage. Unfortunately, like his father, he learned to numb his pain and anger with alcohol and drugs, and had several encounters with the law (some that he writes about here and others he didn't that have been reported) before he eventually turned his life around and came to terms with his father before he died. Their story is set against the progress made by Canada's Indigenous peoples over the span of their lifetimes.
(Kinew's opponents in the latest election tried to make an issue of his past run-ins with the law. He chose to address them head on in a major campaign speech about crime prevention.)
The book is written in clear, straightforward language. The pace is slow, but the story is moving -- especially the last few chapters. It would be a good choice if you're looking to learn more about Indigenous life and culture in Canada today, about the lingering, multi-generational effects of the residential school system -- and/or about a rising young star in the Canadian politics. I sure learned a lot, and I will be watching with interest to see where he and his government take my home province -- and my country -- over the next few years.
4 stars
ryancrasta's review against another edition
4.0
As an immigrant to Canada, I found this book useful on getting more educated on indigenous history, culture and reconciliation.
The memoir style is interesting for talking about two people, the author and his father, and serves as a powerful storytelling technique in better understanding the intergenerational effects of some of their traumatic lived experiences.
The memoir style is interesting for talking about two people, the author and his father, and serves as a powerful storytelling technique in better understanding the intergenerational effects of some of their traumatic lived experiences.
msvenner's review against another edition
3.0
It’s hard to review this book. As a memoir, I’m not sure it holds up. In terms of learning about the impact of residential schools, I very much appreciated this book. As a non-indigenous Canadian, it is important to hear the perspective of survivor descendants. So often I hear people disparage the social problems in First Nations communities without being willing to think about the causes. As someone who lost a parent to a wasting illness, I found certain passages difficult.
I listened to this on audiobook and it was great to hear this in Kinew’s own voice.
I listened to this on audiobook and it was great to hear this in Kinew’s own voice.