Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Memoirs

FROM THE ASHES

Jesse Thistle

In this extraordinary and inspiring debut memoir - reminiscent of The Glass Castle and Angela's Ashes - Jesse Thistle, once a high school dropout and now a rising Indigenous scholar, chronicles his life on the streets and how he overcame trauma and addiction to discover the truth about who he is.

Abandoned by his parents as a toddler, Jesse Thistle briefly found himself in the foster-care system with his two brothers, cut off from all they had known. Eventually the children landed in the home of their paternal grandparents, whose tough-love attitudes quickly resulted in conflicts. Throughout it all, the ghost of Jesse's drug-addicted father haunted the halls of the house and the memories of every family member. Struggling with all that had happened, Jesse succumbed to a self-destructive cycle of drug and alcohol addiction and petty crime, spending more than a decade on and off the streets, often homeless. Finally, he realized he would die unless he turned his life around.

In this heartwarming and heart-wrenching memoir, Jesse Thistle writes honestly and fearlessly about his painful past, the abuse he endured, and how he uncovered the truth about his parents. Through sheer perseverance and education - and newfound love - he found his way back into the circle of his Indigenous culture and family.

Jesse Thistle is Métis-Cree, from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He is an assistant professor in Métis Studies at York University in Toronto. He is a finalist for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize, and the Indigenous Voices Awards, won a Governor General's Academic Medal in 2016, and is a Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation Scholar and a Vanier Scholar. He lives in Hamilton, Ont.

Available products
Book Published 2019-08-06 by Simon & Schuster, Canada

Comments

"A memoir of resilience, spirit and dignity from a gifted storyteller. It is, at heart, also about the many shapes that love can inhabit. When you plan to read this book, clear your schedule. It will hold you in its grasp and won't let you go, like a great novel. It's all the more remarkable that this is not fiction. This book will stand out in my reading experience for a long time to come." - SHELAGH ROGERS, OC, host and a producer of CBC Radio's The Next Chapter, Honorary Witness, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

From the Ashes is an illuminating, inside account of homelessness, a study of survival and freedom. Jesse Thistle delivers a painfully lyrical book, a journey through the torrents of addiction and trauma, masterfully sliding in humour and moments of heart-expanding human connection. I found myself gasping out loud at parts, unable to put the book down. Jesse's story shows us that there is nothing that cannot be transformed.

- From the Ashes is the top selling Canadian book across all categories for the first three-quarters of 2020, according to BookNet, and on track to become the top-selling Canadian book in 2020, selling over 100K copies. - The book is the #7 most borrowed library book in Canada - The book has been on The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star Canadian Non-Fiction bestseller lists for over a year

*Winner, Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Nonfiction *Winner, Indigenous Voices Awards *Finalist, CBC Canada Reads *Finalist, High Plains Book Awards *A Globe and Mail Book of the Year *An Indigo Book of the Year *A CBC Best Canadian Nonfiction Book of the Year

A gritty memoir recounting the devastating long-term effects of childhood abandonment. ... The theme of estrangement is powerfully portrayed in what is ultimately a story of courage and resilience certain to strike a chord with readers from many backgrounds.

In spare and often brutal prose ... Thistle weaves a narrative punctuated with joy and comedy and ultimately redemption.

Jesse did a Facebook live interview with Dr. Jody Carrington (50K followers) Read more...

Blown away by [this] eloquent memoir of Métis life and surviving the streets... [a] strong contender for #CanadaReads.

Candid and cutting, Jesse Thistle lays down his story with a brutal beauty you'll never forget. From the Ashes is a guided tour through a broken heart just trying to keep beating, both failing and succeeding spectacularly.

So fortunate to have the opportunity to read From The Ashes. It launches in August and must be read by all. You'll be drawn into the life journey of someone who's struggled so deep yet has risen up to share with us what it means to be human. A deeply moving read.

TV rights to Jesse's life have been optioned by two ex-CBC producers who are currently looking for a big-name US writer to adapt the story.

This memoir haunts, gnawing at the soul as we walk with Jesse through his many incarnations... If you want a glimpse at why some of our brothers and sisters end up on the streets, read this book.