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justabean_reads's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
For those not following Canadian politics, Wilson-Raybould was the first Indigenous person to serve as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, which position she held until she refused to bend (or possibly break) the rules for the sake of political expediency. Then followed shuffling her aside, cover ups, scandal, smear campaigns and expulsion, possibly not in that order. Following getting kicked out of the governing party, she ran as an independent, won, then retired from federal politics before the last election.
It's probably mostly of interest if you were following the above, since it's primarily "this was my perspective on what happened." However, I also appreciated that she went into the day to day life and duties of a cabinet minister, how party politics work (or don't work), and a lot of how her background as a lawyer and a regional chief of the AFN played into how she saw all this. She's a mix of very unimpressed with a lot of how the sausage gets made stuff generally, and our current government and prime minister specifically, and proud of the work she got done, including working on legalising medically-assisted dying and recreational cannabis use. She talked a lot about how much she wanted to do on Crown-Indigenous relations, but couldn't get any movement on due to lack of political will, and the overwhelming feeling is frustration and disappointment that so much of the Sunny Ways good will of 2015 got wasted on bullshit when we could have made real change. There was an epilogue about her feelings on how Canadian politics should work, which I felt ran a little long, as she'd made most of the same points earlier.
I'm glad I got her reading the audiobook. She's got a great speaking voice, and added a lot of expression.
It's probably mostly of interest if you were following the above, since it's primarily "this was my perspective on what happened." However, I also appreciated that she went into the day to day life and duties of a cabinet minister, how party politics work (or don't work), and a lot of how her background as a lawyer and a regional chief of the AFN played into how she saw all this. She's a mix of very unimpressed with a lot of how the sausage gets made stuff generally, and our current government and prime minister specifically, and proud of the work she got done, including working on legalising medically-assisted dying and recreational cannabis use. She talked a lot about how much she wanted to do on Crown-Indigenous relations, but couldn't get any movement on due to lack of political will, and the overwhelming feeling is frustration and disappointment that so much of the Sunny Ways good will of 2015 got wasted on bullshit when we could have made real change. There was an epilogue about her feelings on how Canadian politics should work, which I felt ran a little long, as she'd made most of the same points earlier.
I'm glad I got her reading the audiobook. She's got a great speaking voice, and added a lot of expression.
petrichortrails's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
All Canadians should read this. We need more leaders like JWR
_emmat's review
4.0
Ever so slightly repetitive in some spots, but otherwise incredible. Totally changed my view of Canadian politics.
melhara's review against another edition
2.0
Right from the prologue, this book dives into the SNC-Lavalin affair, exposes Trudeau's poor leadership, and criticizes the Canadian government.
There were certain aspects of this book that I enjoyed, including learning about the differences between Indigenous and mainstream politics. While it was certainly interesting to read Wilson-Raybould's perspective on Canadian governance from the viewpoint of an Indigenous person who grew up with Indigenous politics, this book was kind of a mess.
This book was both repetitive and all over the place. It bounced back and forth between the SNC-Lavalin affair to Wilson-Raybould's other political experiences, and back to SNC-Lavalin. The book also expects readers to already have a good understanding of recent Canadian politics, the Indian Act, the Idle No More Movement, and most importantly (as it makes up the bulk of this book), the SNC-Lavalin affair before reading this book. It would have been beneficial if background information was provided for readers first, before taking a deep dive into the details of the matter.
There were certain aspects of this book that I enjoyed, including learning about the differences between Indigenous and mainstream politics. While it was certainly interesting to read Wilson-Raybould's perspective on Canadian governance from the viewpoint of an Indigenous person who grew up with Indigenous politics, this book was kind of a mess.
This book was both repetitive and all over the place. It bounced back and forth between the SNC-Lavalin affair to Wilson-Raybould's other political experiences, and back to SNC-Lavalin. The book also expects readers to already have a good understanding of recent Canadian politics, the Indian Act, the Idle No More Movement, and most importantly (as it makes up the bulk of this book), the SNC-Lavalin affair before reading this book. It would have been beneficial if background information was provided for readers first, before taking a deep dive into the details of the matter.
abitbetterbooks's review
4.0
Really powerful, compelling, and incisive book on the state of Canadian politics. I would say it’s an absolute must-read for any person living in so-called Canada, and is an absolute indictment of the state of our government and the pervasive partisanship that plagues our current system.
Wilson-Raybould is honest, open, professionally cutting, and sometimes even quite funny in this not-quite-a-memoir. I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by the author and felt it that was very impactful. She says she’s not a writer and I could feel that sometimes, which took away from some of the experience, but especially with the audiobook I feel like it wasn’t entirely noticeable.
4.5 stars— get this book ASAP!
Wilson-Raybould is honest, open, professionally cutting, and sometimes even quite funny in this not-quite-a-memoir. I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by the author and felt it that was very impactful. She says she’s not a writer and I could feel that sometimes, which took away from some of the experience, but especially with the audiobook I feel like it wasn’t entirely noticeable.
4.5 stars— get this book ASAP!
bookthia's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.75
I read this at the urging of my son and daughter in law. I am glad I did. I was not really interested in learning more about the SNC Lavelin affair. I figured I knew what I needed to know and truly, her account only solidified what I imagined had happened. It’s the other “stuff” that had me riveted. Especially with respect to true reconciliation and party loyalty above all. JWR believes, and I agree, that the party-first system of governance is a key reason so many are disillusioned with politics. Her examples, experiences and reflections on this issue were my biggest takeaway— coupled with her opinions on true reconciliation. I will definitely pick up her next book on reconciliation.