Description
Dr. Marie Wilson (CM, ONWT, MSC) spent six years crisscrossing the country as a commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. She has spoken throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand on the potential of reconciliation. Born in Ontario, she has lived, studied, and worked as a journalist, teacher, professor, trainer, and executive in Canada, France, Burkina Faso, South Africa, and parts of South America. She lives in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
Now in paperback!
The incomparable first-hand account of the historic Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada told by one of the commissioners who led it.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to record the previously hidden history of more than a century of forced residential schooling for Indigenous children. Marie Wilson helped lead that work as one of just three commissioners. With the skills of a journalist, the heart of a mother and grandmother, and the insights of a life as the spouse of a residential school survivor, Commissioner Wilson guides readers through her years witnessing survivor testimony across the country, providing her unique perspective on the personal toll and enduring public value of the commission. In this unparalleled account, she honours the voices of survivors who have called Canada to attention, determined to heal, reclaim, and thrive.
Part vital public documentary, part probing memoir, North of Nowhere breathes fresh air into the possibilities of reconciliation amid the persistent legacy of residential schools. It is a call to everyone to view the important and continuing work of reconciliation not as an obligation but as a gift.
Sample of Reviews:
"Marie Wilson challenges all of us to make a commitment to advance reconciliation. It is about working together: upintowin, lifting each other up." -Chief Dr. Wilton Littlechild
"Marie Wilson is the truth keeper entrusted with the accounts of the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children who went to residential schools." -Cindy Blackstock, executive director, First Nations Child & Family Caring Society
"Beautifully written, Marie Wilson's North of Nowhere is a stunning work of truth, power, and wisdom. An imperative read for all Canadians to understand the layers of shrapnel left by the residential school system that will leave you with emotion and hope. Wilson is an incredibly brilliant and gifted writer." - Angela Sterritt, author of Unbroken: My Fight for Survival, Hope, and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls
"I hope everyone reads this and finds their way to support Survivors, their families, and their communities as they continue to reclaim so much of what was stolen. What a profound and riveting read." -Richard Van Camp, author of The Lesser Blessed and Godless but Loyal to Heaven
"In North of Nowhere, Marie Wilson honours her vow to residential school Survivors to 'do no harm' and to bear witness to and honour their experiences 'I see you. I hear you. I believe you. And I love you'-Marie's words as a Commissioner to Survivors set the tone for this very important book." - Perry Bellegarde, former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations
"Truth must come before reconciliation; this book will empower Canadians to focus on what we can control today when it comes to implementing the Calls to Action. This book advocates for building awareness, understanding, and long-term relationships between Indigenous people and Canadians. If every Canadian reads this book, the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action can be achieved." -Cadmus Delorme, former chief of Cowessess First Nation
"We ask and demand so much of our leaders and healers. And we expect that while they work, they also hold space for us. In that space is our healing. The Commissioners heard it all-an emotional snapshot, a glimpse of our collective history-and held it throughout and carried on, every day. Words like Marie Wilson's, from her beautiful soul, are the salve." - Susan Aglukark, Juno Award-winning Inuk musician, author, and philanthropist
"Marie Wilson places her own life and story in the service of reconciliation, as an agent for truth and as a reporter for the TRC story, whose legacy has profoundly changed this country for the better." -Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami