From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way

Jesse Thistle, a rising Indigenous scholar and former high school dropout, describes his life on the streets and how he overcame trauma and addiction to find the truth about who he is in this amazing and inspirational debut novel.

I might actually have a chance to live, to be something other than a broke crazy person, if I can just make it to the next minute.

From the Ashes is a powerful story about resiliency and optimism that offers a groundbreaking glimpse into the life of a Métis-Cree man who never gave up.

Jesse Thistle was briefly separated from his two brothers and placed in the foster care system after his parents abandoned him when he was a baby. The kids eventually moved in with their paternal grandparents, but because of their strict parenting styles, arguments were frequent. Additionally, every family member's memory and the house's hallways were haunted by the spirit of Jesse's drug-addicted father. Jesse struggled and eventually gave in to a self-destructive pattern of drug and alcohol abuse, minor crimes, and more than 10 years of living on the streets, frequently without a place to live. He eventually came to the realization one day that unless he changed his ways, he would die.

Jesse Thistle talks openly and bravely about his traumatic experiences with abuse, learning the truth about his parents, and how education allowed him to reintegrate into his Indigenous culture and family in this touching and devastating memoir.

An elegant examination of what it means to be abandoned and live in a society full of bigotry and racism, In the end, From the Ashes is about how love and support may enable someone to rediscover happiness in the face of adversity.