Keeper'n Me

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

By turns funny, poignant and mystical, Keeper'n Me casts fresh light on the redemptive power of one's community and tradition. When Garnet Raven was three years old, he was taken from his home on an Ojibway Indian reserve and placed in a series of foster homes. Having reached his mid-teens, he escapes at the first available opportunity, only to find himself cast adrift on the streets of the big city. Having skirted the urban underbelly once too often by age 20, he finds himself thrown in jail. While there, he gets a surprise letter from his long-forgotten native family. The sudden communication from his past spurs him to return to the reserve following his release from jail. Deciding to stay awhile, his life is changed completely as he comes to discover his sense of place, and of self. While on the reserve, Garnet is initiated into the ways of the Ojibway--both ancient and modern--by Keeper, a friend of his grandfather, and last fount of history about his people's ways. By turns funny, poignant and mystical, Keeper'n Me reflects a positive view of Native life and philosophy--as well as casting fresh light on the redemptive power of one's community and traditions.

Reviews

"A fascinating read...I loved the revelations of a child taken away from the love of his family and put out to where his spirit was lost...Wagamese's book is about healing the lost soul"
-Tantoo Cardinal

Author Bio

RICHARD WAGAMESE, an Ojibway from the Wabaseemoong First Nation in northwestern Ontario, was one of Canada's foremost writers. His acclaimed, bestselling novels includedKeeper'n Me;Indian Horse, which was a Canada Reads finalist, winner of the inaugural Burt Award for First Nations, Metis and Inuit Literature, and made into a feature film; andMedicine Walk. He was also the author of acclaimed memoirs, includingFor Joshua;One Native Life; andOne Story, One Song, which won the George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature; as well as a collection of personal reflections,Embers, which received the Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. He won numerous awards and recognition for his writing, including the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Media and Communications, the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize, the Canada Reads People's Choice Award, and the Writers' Trust of Canada's Matt Cohen Award. Wagamese died on March 10, 2017, in Kamloops, B.C.