Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Legal Issues Book review Book review The book written by Mary Lawrence (1996) called My People Myself is a great story of a native women’s struggle in society. The book does an excellent job of portraying a native women’s life on an Indian reserve in British Colombia. With Mary Lawrence’s real life story the struggles facing natives are brought to the forefront and the truths of growing up as a native Indian are described in the harsh settings of old run down houses. Readers are able to read and see that native Indians have endured great pains over the years at the hands of society and the government. The struggles that are depicted in Mary Lawrence’s book are in regards to physical abuse and drug abuse. In addition the author discusses sexual abuse. The book My people, myself talks about the authors struggles with drug, alcohol, and prescription pill addiction. The book goes into great detail in describing the cycles of these drugs and the methods of using and selling drugs. Mary Lawrence also discusses the problems she faced regarding social relationships. These relationships were with her male partners, family members and friends. The author of My people, myself was one of six children who grew up on a reserve just north of the town Vernon in British Colombia. Mary Lawrence lived with her mother and 5 siblings. Mary also lived near her Grandmother whom she loved dearly. The house in which Mary and her family lived in was old and rundown. Furthermore, the house had no electricity and running water. The family cooked using gas stoves and used candles for light. The house also had no carpeting or linoleum floors and the family used the wood stove for heat. Mary’s mother was also living off social assistance and since the family had no fridge she bought canned foods. From a very young age Mary was exposed to a kind of chaos that would cause turmoil for any child. Mary’s older brother Hugh was always breaking the rules of the house and Mary would witness the brush stick beatings that would ensue. Mary states that she and her sister Marge would not do anything because they were scared their mother would beat them too. Mary was also exposed to alcohol at a very young age as her Uncle James would leave the reserve on several occasions and come home “full of spirits” and quite drunk. Ironically it wasn’t until Mary’s house on the reserve actually burned down that they were able to get a new house. This house was equipped with running water and a toilet that flushed. However this good turn of events was short lived as this is where Mary’s story took a turn for the worst and it did not get better for a long time. Mary was only eight years old when her problems really started to get bad. This is when she was ripped form her home and forced to go to a residential school with her older siblings Marge and Hugh. This was due to her moms drinking binges that would cause her mom to be away from the house for days at a time and the children being home alone would have to fend for themselves. Mary and her siblings did have their Grandmother but sometimes it would be days before she would realize that the kids were by themselves. The drinking binges became more and more frequent and the police started to pick up the mother for alcohol offences and she landed in jail in Vancouver. This is when the children were taken to Cranbrook. The residential schools were the next phase of Mary Lawrence’s turmoil. From the beginning Mary was separated from her brother Hugh who was put in the boys dorm. The book does an excellent job of portraying the way of life inside an Indian residential school. The rules were very strict and the schools were of the Catholic faith. Mary had a very difficult time in these schools and was abused by the nuns if she broke the rules. Mary was punished for not being in bed at time and for flicking the lights. This was physically done by “strapping” the hand of any disobedient student. Mary was also traumatized because she was apart from her older sister and couldn’t understand why she wasn’t able to be close to her sister. According to Mary this left her very hurt and confused. Mary suffered similarly once she was put in a Kamloops residential school. Mary gives detailed accounts of how she was forced to eat cold lumpy oatmeal while the staff would eat better quality meals. Mary also discusses how her Indian heritage was taken away from her as she was forced to assimilate into the catholic faith and how this troubled her terribly. Mary endured further hardship once again once she entered grade six when her mother was allowed to have her children back. The drinking binges started all over again in the same cycle. Mary was often forced to stay home from school, as her mother would not be home to look after the kids. Eventually the social worker discovered what was going and Mary was put in a series of foster homes that neglected and abused her. Mary’s mother died when she was in grade 9 and this left her in a confused state. Mary was devastated that her mother passed away but she was mad at her for not being there for her children. Eventually Mary stayed with the Leduc’s family who were very loving and cared for Mary’s needs. However, Mary wanted to be independent and told the Leduc’s she was going to try it on her own. Mary then rented an apartment with her sister Marge in the town of Salmon Arm. Mary was still pretty young as she hadn’t finished high school yet and her sister was only seventeen years old. After getting bored of life in Salmon Arm Mary decided she needed another change and decided to move to the big city of Toronto. Unfortunately for Mary this is where her problems with substance abuse started. After using speed and LSD Mary became addicted and had to check into a psychiatric hospital. Mary also became an alcoholic when she began to drink everyday by frequenting the bars close to her apartment. Toronto was also the place that Mary started bringing home different men from the bars. Shortly after her arrival Mary was raped by a man who stated he could get her a job at a jeans factory. This left her feeling used, angry and humiliated. Again Mary decided she needed a change and headed to Vancouver via train. Unfortunately for Mary this is where her problems again got worse. Mary attained a serious addiction to heroin and with her partner John she began to hustle in the streets. This relationship was the worst Mary ever had because of the abuse that she tells about. John would beat her repeatedly for the next several years. Furthermore, Mary’s drug addiction was so severe she became confined to her room and began to sell her body to John in exchange for heroin. After life became to “heaty” for the two they fled to San Francisco, which eventually turned into the same old story. With both Mary and John hooked on heroin they committed crimes in San Francisco that eventually landed them jail sentences in California. Upon her release Mary left for San Jose and became pregnant with a married man and eventually left and returned home to BC leaving John behind. It wasn’t until Mary was almost 36 years of age when she finally became clean. This was a result of having a tear in her stomach from all the abuse over the years. Mary Lawrence was exposed to alcohol and abuse at a very young age as mentioned earlier. I think Mary’s behaviour was shaped by her mother’s behaviour. Mary’s Uncle James was her first experience of an alcoholic in the family. Then her mother mirrored this behaviour a short time later and began to go on drinking binges and being absent from their home. Mary was upset at this and wondered why her mother did not care about her. That being said Mary behaved the same way when she had her children. In my mind this was definitely the result of social learning. Mary definitely learned this reckless behaviour from her mom. Although Mary writes she was hurt and confused by her mom’s behaviour she still engaged in the same type of acts. I think that she just accepted her behaviour as being okay because after all her mother did the same thing when she was younger. Mary’s social relationships were also affected by her upbringing. More specifically, her dealings at the Indian residential schools in Cranbrook and Kamloops. These schools caused her to accept abuse and punishment. Mary’s choices of men according to her were not good ones at all. According to the author she would choose men who would abuse her. I think this was because she was around abuse and hitting her whole life. From the house on the Indian reserve to the residential schools to the foster homes she experienced abuse. This all became a normal way of life for Mary and she accepted her fate for the longest time. I think Mary learned her promiscuity from her mother too. Just like her mother did Mary would bring home different men from the bars for one night stands. Mary Lawrence’s book does a good job portraying the Indian life but according to society the causes of their struggles are different. Society can view Indians very stereotypically and this was evident in the book when Mary noted that Indians were seen as nothing more than “drunken indians” In course readings it has been shown that there are Indian court systems in place with sometimes non-Indian workers. These court systems are said to lack the understanding of Indian culture and impose penalties that don’t help the native people at all. I think this was portrayed in the book as Mary’s mother was continually given long sentences for drinking offences. The judge did not take into account what the community elders thought of the situation. This is the same thing that is happening today according to course readings. Even years later when Mary faced the judicial system in California the penalty was fairly stiff for a pretty minor offence. In this instance the judge also failed to consider cultural factors in the sentencing process. This book also opened my own eyes to the native issue. I admit some stereotypes in my mind were lifted. For example the issue of alcohol addiction. I never realized just how bad the conditions were at the residential schools. I think a lot of people have thought that at least they got an education. I think theirs a lot more to consider here that the mere access to education. Everyone in this country is entitled to an education so I think the government does not deserve any praise for the residential schools. However the abuse and forced assimilations in these schools can cause anyone to turn to alcohol and drugs when they get older. I also think the lengthy jail sentences served for alcohol related offences back in those days are ridiculous. As a correctional officer I have seen aboriginals in jail numerous times. Now I am able to visualize the struggles they face on the streets being addicted to drugs. I now also realize the struggles that their ancestors faced in the early years of British Columbia. Overall Mary Lawrence’s book does an excellent job highlighting the struggles she faced growing up. The book really opens people’s eyes to how substance abuse really gets started among native people. The book also demonstrates that when a child goes through turmoil when they’re young it can affect their adult life greatly. Bibliography: book review of My People Myself Word Count: 2079
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