... McLeod is remarkably frank ... McLeod’s power as a writer elevates them in unexpected and elegant ways ... Mamaskatch...spirals through vignettes that are by turns heart-wrenching and humorous, despairing and loving, and as they swirl together we see how McLeod makes his story complete and realizes order out of the chaos of his experiences.
To undo the multiple evils of Canadian racism, we need to see it clearly. Unflinchingly honest accounts like McLeod’s allow us to see much of the past that has been obscured and distorted for non-Indigenous Canadians ... Anyone who cares about reconciliation and enjoys powerful prose narrative will be glad to have read this important book.
... the fragmented and seemingly dissonant episodic chapters contain elements that are present in many Native/First Nations memoirs: alcohol, drugs, domestic violence, abuse, racism, religious intolerance, and poverty. However, these details don’t exist to pleasure the white gaze or to satisfy any savior complex. These aspects, delineated in the segmented narratives, reflect candid truths and the brokenness that occurs in a life surrounded by settler colonialism and fueled by historical trauma ... the author ably conveys all of the devastating guilt, shame, remorse, and emptiness that he has experienced ... Lyrically written and linked by family, compassion, forgiveness, and hope, Mamaskatch sings out as a modern-day celebration of healing.
