76 pages of straight talk—Merasty’s first-hand account of physical and sexual abuse by Catholic nuns and priests at St. Therese School— cannot fail to move the reader, even after so much of the criminal treatment of aboriginal children has already been exposed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Augie’s ‘voice,’ as captured by ‘editor,’ academic David Carpenter, rings true, though Carpenter’s tone in the introduction feels both too-much-in-your-face and condescending.
Augie doesn’t exaggerate as he recounts in a straightforward and compelling way what horrors he and others suffered. Having shared his story in the book and with the Commission, this courageous man, now in his 70’s, lives and drinks ‘on the street.’ He also now faces prostate cancer, an irony surely when he was able to survive the cancerous experiences of his youth. Introduction: 2/10; text 7/10
The Education of Augie Merasty, A residential school memoire Joseph Auguste Merasty, with David Carpenter 2015
76 pages of straight talk—Merasty’s first-hand account of physical and sexual abuse by Catholic nuns and priests at St. Therese School— cannot fail to move the reader, even after so much of the criminal treatment of aboriginal children has already been exposed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Augie’s ‘voice,’ as captured by ‘editor,’ academic David Carpenter, rings true, though Carpenter’s tone in the introduction feels both too-much-in-your-face and condescending.
Augie doesn’t exaggerate as he recounts in a straightforward and compelling way what horrors he and others suffered. Having shared his story in the book and with the Commission, this courageous man, now in his 70’s, lives and drinks ‘on the street.’ He also now faces prostate cancer, an irony surely when he was able to survive the cancerous experiences of his youth. Introduction: 2/10; text 7/10
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