One second at a time : my story of pain and reclamation / Diane Morrisseau, with Elisabeth Brannigan ; foreword by Marlyn Bennett.
"For almost two decades, Diane Morrisseau was chained to a brutal husband who abused not only her, but their children. By threatening Diane with their death and hers should she ever try to leave, he ensured that she continue to endure his cruelty. Despite this, Diane found the strength to walk away. This book is the story of how she did so, and how she rebuilt a life beyond her abuser. Through Al-Anon, Anishinabe traditional healing ceremonies, counselling, and care for others, Diane found a new path illuminated by compassion and purpose. Diane Morrisseau recounts her traumatic history with one aim: to help other victims of violence know they are not alone, and that escape is possible. The author's entire career, and this book, testify to her desire to extend to others the hope that eluded her in the depths of her desperate circumstances. Devastatingly frank about the abuse she suffered, the mothering her children missed because of it, and the systems that allowed it all to happen, Diane today has reconciled the past with a present where she continues to live out the values that matter to her most"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780774880978 (trade paperback)
- Physical Description: xxii, 171 pages ; 22 cm
- Publisher: Vancouver, BC : Purich Books, [2024]
- Copyright: ©2024
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Genre: | Autobiographies. Biographies. Personal narratives. |
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- 0 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
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Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
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Stroud Branch | ON ORDER | pr07516101 | NONFIC | On order | - |
- Baker & Taylor
"For almost two decades, Diane Morrisseau was chained to a brutal husband who abused not only her, but their children. By threatening Diane with their death and hers should she ever try to leave, he ensured that she continue to endure his cruelty. Despite this, Diane found the strength to walk away. This book is the story of how she did so, and how she rebuilt a life beyond her abuser. Through Al-Anon, Anishinabe traditional healing ceremonies, counselling, and care for others, Diane found a new path illuminated by compassion and purpose. Diane Morrisseau recounts her traumatic history with one aim: to help other victims of violence know they are not alone, and that escape is possible. The author's entire career, and this book, testify to her desire to extend to others the hope that eluded her in the depths of her desperate circumstances. Devastatingly frank about the abuse she suffered, the mothering her children missed because of it, and the systems that allowed it all to happen, Diane today has reconciled the past with a present where she continues to live out the values that matter to her most."-- - Chicago Distribution Center
A deeply personal history of colonialismâs effects on an Ojibway-Anishinabe woman who survives a traumatic childhood and eventually escapes domestic violence to find hope and healing.
Bullied and abused at the Fort Alexander Indian Residential day school, Diane Morrisseau fought back and left school at the age of fifteen. Despite her strength, a childhood of trauma and abuse led her into the arms of Edgar Olson, and by sixteen, the young Ojibway-Anishinabe woman had given birth to her first child and married the man who would become her tormentor for the next eighteen years. Her abuser was aided and abetted by the same systems of colonialism that failed to protect Diane during her childhood. Edgar was able to keep Diane and her children trapped in a cycle of violence for years, without being held accountable by law or society. What could have been a chronicle of unrelenting hardship instead becomes the narrative of how Diane found the strength to survive, reclaim her life, and eventually thrive. Today she draws meaning from her painful past, counseling women, children, and men experiencing similarly difficult circumstances.