Karen
longed for acceptance, validation and love, but had no ability to
form healthy, meaningful relationships. Born into a large family
already suffering the effects of two generations of residential
school, and surviving her own nine years at St. Margaret Indian
Residential School, Karen (like everyone she knew) had been
systematically stripped of her dignity, identity, language, culture,
family and community support systems.
Not
wanting to be alone as an adult, Karen tolerated unhealthy
relationships with family and partners. Still, she was coping. But
after suffering further trauma, Karen turned to alcohol and other
addictions to numb her pain.
Eventually,
Karen found the strength to reach out for help. She learned to grieve
through layers of shame and was finally able to embrace her identity.
Karen also discovered what has long been known in her culture – the
healing power of sharing your story. Karen would now like to share
this book, her story, with you.
Excerpt:
My
Childhood It was a hot sunny day; a soothing breeze was flowing off
the lake through the open screened windows. My mother and I were both
lying sideways across a double bed, next to the open window, enjoying
the afternoon together. I was on my stomach, legs in the air, as my
eyes followed a bee buzzing around outside the screen window. My
mother was lying on her side, legs dangling off the bed. She was a
hard-working woman, young in spirit, all the while loving her family.
There was no rest, having twelve children to tend to, but that
afternoon she was taking a break with me anyway. Out of the blue, I
asked, “Mom, what was it like when you gave birth to me?”
Mom
looked out the window, reminiscing on the day she gave birth to me.
Her face brightened as she began to tell her story. She said she went
into labour the wee hours of the morning, and as the sun began to
appear across the horizon, she prepared for her journey into town,
packing a suitcase with her belongings and some baby clothes. My
mother prayed that she would make it to the hospital on time. She had
plenty of experience giving birth.
Dad
took the suitcase down to the boat. There, he carefully prepared our
big ole fishing boat for the trip by making sure there was plenty of
gas and by laying blankets on the floor of the boat, so Mom could lie
down as she bore each contraction. As my mother wobbled down the hill
toward my dad, he grabbed her hand and helped her into the boat. He
made sure she was comfortable on the blankets before starting their
journey. Like all dad’s, he was nervous. He remained silent and
hoped they would make it into town on time. The two-hour ride seemed
like eternity.
The
water was calm and serene and looked like a glass mirror. There was
no breeze, and all you could hear was the motor putting slowly across
the lake. Occasionally, my mother moaned in pain as she would breathe
into each contraction. While gasping, Mom saw a stork flying across
the lake as they approached our Couchiching First Nation reserve.
Immediately, upon seeing the stork, Mom had suspicious thoughts that
her baby might be taken away. She prayed that she would make it to
the hospital safely and that I would be healthy.
As
my parents approached land, houses appeared on the lakeshore, and she
knew that things would be fine. As Dad docked the boat, he climbed
out of the boat and opened his hands to help Mom out of the boat.
Once he had the boat docked and Mom was safely on land with her
personal belongings, he ran to the nearest house to call a taxi. The
trip to the hospital was only a ten-minute drive, but they had
railway tracks to cross. If the tracks were blocked by a train it
would prevent them from getting into town.
God
answered their prayers, and everything turned out fine. Mom explained
that I was a dry birth because her water broke several hours before I
was born. Despite it all, Mom and Dad became proud parents once
again. I was now the tenth child and second girl in the family. It
was mandatory that we stayed in the hospital for the next ten days as
my mother recuperated and regained her strength. When we checked out,
I had a good bill of health.
Book
Trailer:
AUTHOR
Bio and Links:
Karen
Chaboyer is an Ojibwa mother and grandmother from Rainy River First
Nations, a community in northwestern Ontario. She is proudly admired
by her children, who have witnessed her transformation as she worked
through layers of shame and learned to embrace her identity. A
second-generation survivor of residential school, Karen now shares
her experiences with audiences throughout the Toronto area, where she
now resides. Karen's goal is to educate people on the extent to which
the tragedies of the residential school system have impacted
individuals, families, communities and entire cultures to this day.
5 comments:
Good Morning! Your book sounds great and I'm glad I got to learn about it. Thank you!
Great post and awesome giveaway, thanks for sharing!
I enjoyed the excerpt, this looks great
Enjoyed the excerpt, sounds like an interesting read! Thanks for sharing!
Sounds like a very good book.
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