A Box Full of Tears is wildly gripping and entertaining book! It dares to take its readers by the eyes, into the tents and lodges of Canada's First People at the turn of the twentieth century. You will be delighted, shocked, and crushed by the powerful accounts of Canadian heroism on the battlefields of World War One. You will laugh and love and blush at the boldness of Giorgio as he learns to make love while struggling to stay alive in London and in France. Askuwheteau, the great mythical thunderbird will return to his home blinded by the tears of what he and you have witnessed through the eyes of a young Metis boy from Lac La Biche and Saddle Lake. This story will not soon be forgotten by those that seek to understand the consequences of our historical Residential School Policies, their impact on Aboriginal cultures and family structure, and the compelling necessity to move ahead with the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
About the Author: Askuwheteau flies straight at you from the imagined Cree legend "A Box Full of Tears". You will grow through the formative years of a young, remarkable, metis boy from the Cree community of Lac La Biche, and Saddle Lake, Alberta. Through his eyes you will witness the systematic destruction of Cree native culture as the relentless administration of Canada's Residential School policies are driven and enforced on him and over a hundred thousand fellow native children. Raised by a daunting, loving grandmother, Askuwheteau survives to mature into a young man his village grows to depend on for his skill as a trapper. He finds love in the arms and furs of his first erotic encounter. You will endure and rise with him as he becomes just one small part of the river of Canadians that flowed from Halifax to Europe to suffer and triumph on the battlefields of France, Flanders, and Belgium. Thrill with him as he becomes a sniper. Enjoy with him delights found in darkened bedrooms in London and Arras. Suffer as he suffers with life changing wounds; feel his pain on returning to his home to find a Canada that is changing and growing too fast to give a moment's thought to the unbelievable tragedy was enfolding throughout the villages of our First Nations communities. A Box Full of Tears is an incredibly powerful story. One that every Canadian should read as we approach the remembrance of the One Hundredth Anniversary of Vimy Ridge. This book will relate one part of our history that will not be celebrated.