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Jesse Thistle From The Ashes Sparknotes

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A little boy who wants admiration from his dad becomes a drug addict that is completely wretech but finds his path towards a successful man in the future. Jesse Thistle, the author of From the Ashes is an agonizng yet compelling story that retells someone life experiences with addictions, trauma and identity. From the Ashes is a memoir about life and on how people can be impacted by systematic racism, homelesness and trauma but can overcome them with the help of family, friends and culture.
Most of us have dealt with some sort of form of bullying but Thistle deals with this for most of his childhood. Thistle’s Métis identity is made fun of by his classmates. As a result, Thistle rejects this identity of his by telling his classmates that …show more content…

Thistle however, has not only experienced depression but complex trauma and somehow is able to push through these traumatic experiences with the help of family. His families neglection, lost of identity and addiction has lead Thistle to an appalling lifestyle. In one case Thistle undergoes excruciating pain due to his leg’s condition. As Thistle tried getting treatment for it he found himself not getting anywhere due to the restrictions the government had for him. Without an ID he was not able to get the medical treatment he needed. Thistle then decided to commit a crime and confess to it, so that he would go to jail and would be able to get the treatment he needed for his leg. Thistle stills suffer pain from his leg while working as a construction worker but his wife is able to push him through this pain and put Thistle on a new path of hope. His wife “gave [him] the courage to hope and dream” which would inevitably lead Thistle to attend York University and fulfill his dream job. The motivation his wife gave him at this moment made Thistle realize that he should work for his dreams instead of suffering every day to make ends meet. Thistle had to face complex trauma but the love from his wife was able to push Thistle to overcome

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