Wordfest Online Book Club: From The Ashes

Wordfest Online Book Club: From The Ashes

Have you vowed to get some serious reading done and stay connected while we are all self-isolating this spring – then have a great chat about what you’ve read with an equally engaged group of book lovers from a safe distance? Come prepared to delve into the #1 National Bestseller, From The Ashes by Jesse Thistle, followed by a Q&A with Jesse himself!

Wordfest invites you to join us for the online version of the new monthly Wordfest Book Club, featuring 2019 breakout memoir, From the Ashes. Canada Reads contender Jesse Thistle, who wowed us all at the 2019 Imaginairium, will be Zooming in at the end of the 45-minute discussion to give you the inside scoop on his debut bestseller. Being able to interact with the authors will be an ongoing perk, whether online, at the end of the live discussion once we can gather again in person, and at the special Book Club Extravanza at the fall Imaginairium.

To enable you to really engage with each other (at Book Club, you’re the stars!), we will be capping the number of online participants. Our goal is to spark the same open, intelligent, funny conversation, except you’ll have to pour your own libations!

In advance of the virtual book club gathering, we will provide registrants with more information on how to connect and interact using the Zoom platform.

We are so grateful to Simon & Schuster Canada for making it possible for us to connect with Jesse. To get a copy of From The Ashes, please get in touch with your local book stores (let's keep them in business!). Here are Calgary booksellers that would love to be able to deliver through curbside pickup or to your home: 

Owl's Nest Books | Shelf Life Books | Pages On Kensington | Indigo.ca

About From The Ashes

From the Ashes is a remarkable memoir about hope and resilience, and a revelatory look into the life of a Métis-Cree man who refused to give up.

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.

An eloquent exploration of the impact of prejudice and racism, From the Ashes is about how love and support can help us find happiness despite the odds. 

Curiouser?

Articles:

• “How author Jesse Thistle is helping doctors in Canada fight Indigenous homelessness” — CBC
• “A loving wife and cat, some cheap furniture...Jesse Thistle has everything he needs to write here” — CBC Arts
• "How Jesse Thistle survived addiction, homelessness and incarceration — and became a Canada Reads finalist" — CBC Arts