Joseph Auguste (Augie) Merasty – författare

A national bestseller, now available in paperback. Named the fourth most important Book of the Year by the National Post in 2015 and recipient of the One Book, One Province in Saskatchewan for 2017, The Education of Augie Merasty launched on the front page of the Globe and Mail and became a national bestseller and an instant classic. A retired fisherman and trapper who sometimes lived rough on the streets, Augie Merasty was one of an estimated 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children who were taken from their families and sent to government-funded, church-run schools, where they were subjected to a policy of aggressive assimilation. As Merasty recounts, these schools did more than attempt to mould children in the ways of white society. They were taught to be ashamed of their heritage and, as he experienced, often suffered physical and sexual abuse. A courageous and intimate memoir, The Education of Augie Merasty is the story of a child who faced the dark heart of humanity, let loose by the cruel policies of a bigoted nation. But even as he looks back on this painful part of his childhood, Merasty's sense of humour and warm voice shine through.