Though meandering at times, lacking a throughline many memoirs often deploy to keep things grounded, I know the authors work and was interested in his life and learning more about him, personally, because I live in Canada and am interested in indigenous culture.

A fairly big chunk is his childhood residential school story, so it’s worth pointing out trigger warnings for violence and sexual assault against minors. Though less brutal than others, some have contextualized this as sympathize to residential schools. I don’t think it is. He finds positive things about being there, like having an extended family, of sorts, in the people he went to school with and others who were forced to those places. But also talks about sexual assault he experienced personally. It feels fair and in it is his experience, he can contextualize it however he likes, imo.

Otherwise, I found the things he recalls about his life and indigenous experience valuable and insightful. He’s lived a long time and seen a lot of change in Canada, and applies a unique lens to the worst and best he’s witnessed.