The Education of Augie Merasty by Joseph Auguste Merasty with David Carpenter, read by Lorne Cardinal

The Education of Augie Merasty

Merasty, Joseph Auguste, David Carpenter

$24.99
  • Named the fourth most important “Book of the Year” by the National Post in 2015 and voted “One Book/One Province” in Saskatchewan for 2017, The Education of Augie Merasty launched on the front page of The Globe and Mail to become a national bestseller and an instant classic.

    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.

    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 Augie 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.

    But even as he looks back on this painful part of his childhood, Merasty's sense of humour and warm voice shine through.

    “In this book I have seen horror through eyes of a child.” — James Daschuk, author of Clearing the Plains

    “A story in which our entire nation has an obscure and dark complicity.” — David Carpenter, co-author of The Education of Augie Merasty and author of The Gold and other books

    Bespeak Audio Editions brings Canadian voices to the world with audiobook editions of some of the country’s greatest works of literature, performed by Canadian actors.

  • A retired Cree trapper, Joseph Auguste Merasty attended St. Therese Residential School in Sturgeon Landing, Saskatchewan, from 1935 to 1944. He lived in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

  • Published: March 2022

    ISBN: 9781773058955

    Duration: 3:04

Reviews

“Historically significant.” — Publishers Weekly

“At 86, Augie Merasty has been a lot of things: Father. Son. Outdoorsman. Homeless. But now he is a first-time author, and the voice of a generation of residential-school survivors … The Education of Augie Merasty is the tale of a man not only haunted by his past, but haunted by the fundamental need to tell his own story … one of the most important titles to be published this spring.” — Globe and Mail

“A truly extraordinary memoir by a truly extraordinary man.” — Midwest Book Review

“A sharp-eyed account.” — Toronto Star

The Education of Augie Merasty might be a small book, but it carries a punch to it that all Canadian need to read and understand.” — Rabble