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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.
megan_prairierose's review against another edition
5.0
"The combined weight of the churches and the Canadian state had been set on crushing children like him when they were just little - barely five, six, or seven years old - but they did not break. They survived. They may have lost some of their friends, and may have been damaged along the way, but they did not give up. They kept speaking their language. They kept practising their culture. They kept praying the way their parents had taught them to. And they waited. "
"I am the reason you walk. I gave you motivation so you would continue to walk even when the path became difficult, even seemingly impossible."
"I am the reason you walk. I gave you motivation so you would continue to walk even when the path became difficult, even seemingly impossible."
whitedaylilies's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
alexis_maturana's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
emmykyhil's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Pedophilia, Child death, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Bullying, Child abuse, Suicide, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Colonisation, Cursing, and Infidelity