Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way

An incredibly heart wrenching but important story, this one has been on my list for a while and I see why it has so much acclaim. Jesse Thistle is an expert storyteller, detailing in brutal detail his struggles and triumphs as a deeply broken man, in a system stacked against him who somehow found his way out. Themes of generational trauma and indigeneity are front and center in this story. I think that this story is an important one for all Canadians to read to understand many of the struggles plaguing our society right now, the overdose and homelessness crises along with the deep scars of our longstanding relationship with indigenous people in this country. Thistle holds nothing back, describing in detail the many hardships of his upbringing, the mistakes he made that led him to a life on the streets, and the hopelessness of addiction. It's a brutal and at times difficult read but you never stop rooting for his redemption and when it finally comes it's an emotional crescendo that keeps you hooked.

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zee's review against another edition

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challenging emotional medium-paced

3.25

An incredibly brutal memoir focusing on how childhood trauma impacted Thistle's drug addiction and homelessness. I found it difficult to gauge the passage of time, and some anecdotes were quite disjointed with seeming nonsequitors. The ending wraps things up quickly without as much introspection as I'd hoped given the tribulations related. I'm glad Thistle was able to overcome such hardship, but the memoir unfortunately didn't grab me.

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moocasey_'s review against another edition

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dark inspiring fast-paced

5.0

I sped through this book. Such an incredibly shocking and touching memoir.
I love how he never blamed anyone for the mistakes he made throughout his life. He took ownership over all the crap he did, and thanked those that gave him second chances, a couch to crash on, food, booze, and drugs.

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mlrichar's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

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cemeterygay's review against another edition

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emotional reflective

5.0

I can't add much more other than it was an incredibly emotional read. If you're in the right emotional headspace I would absolutely recommend reading it. Especially if you are native, I would recommend taking care of yourself while reading this.

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bookedinsideout's review against another edition

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5.0

Just wow. An incredible story that’s compulsively readable and exceptionally impactful. There was a point where after relying so much and being relied on by his brothers when they were young, he suddenly went off and I wanted to know how they were doing, but we eventually caught up to them and really this is Jesse’s story. Sometimes the story is important yet is lacking something in its form, but I felt like everything came together here for me: the writing, the structure, his storytelling, his reflection, the impact… it was a beautiful memoir.

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