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maryannetrengove 's review for:
Indian Horse
by Richard Wagamese
4.5 stars for Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. This is a fictionalized account of the life of one boy taken from his home and his parents when he was 12 and the trauma he endured at a Canadian Boarding School for Native American children under the reign of Catholic nuns and priests. It is equally heartbreaking and hopeful. I greatly appreciated the resolution that the main character found at the end of the book by circling back to where all of his trauma began. This is a tough read. Because it happened. And, I'm embarrassed to say I really don't know if I could have read this if it were more than a short book because it was hugely depressing. That being said, I think it is so important we push ourselves through and learn about the atrocities done in the name of religion and race. If we don't, how will we ever teach our children to become good humans? And, I think that the way Wagamese used hockey as both a lifeline and an anchor really keeps the reader from becoming so weighed down you just can't finish it. There is resolution. It may be complete fantasy to think that children survived the Hell of those boarding schools, but it helped in this fictionalized account to crack that door for me. And, we all start where we can. Trigger warnings across the board - child abuse both psychological/sexual (not explicit)/physical and child death.