Professor's second book explores healing through cultural ceremony
- Tiffany Head | May 04, 2016
The second book from FNUniv professor Sharon Acoose explores how connecting with culture through ceremony can be used as a "tool for recovery."
Acoose, who is from Sakimay First Nation, recently held a reading/discussion/ signing to launch her new book, “A Fire Burns Within: Teachings from Ceremony and Culture” at the First nations University of Canada Regina.
Acoose, who had launched her first book, “An Arrow In My Heart: A First Nation Woman’s Account of Survival from the Streets to the Height of Academia,” at FNUC in Regina last year shared her remarkable story of her childhood trauma, addiction and going to prison, to finally turning her life around.
“If you’re hurting, if you’re coming out of a bad relationship, if you’re an abused woman or an abused man or need help with your kids, do it. It's life changing, it doesn’t matter what race you are,” said Acoose.
She said that when people talked about ceremonies, she did not believe them and now it has given her strength and has become her foundation
“Well, there’s all kinds of ceremonies. I only just discovered this. I came from a place where ceremony wasn’t there, we didn’t do ceremony, I was working on the street,” said Acoose.
Through her life, she says she has fought to live the good life and where she is at now is an awesome place to be.
“Since 2012, I’ve been different, calmer, more at peace. I’m not doing stuff because I have to; I do it because I want to do,” said Acoose.
Acoose said that her start came when her Publisher John Charlton of JCharlton publishing Ltd. did a call for papers from university students doing their dissertations.
“I was reading his stuff and I said hey, I got to get a hold of him. I sent him my dissertation and next thing you know, we were writing books together,” said Acoose.
Charlton said that though he did not know enough about First Nation culture but he knew enough to know if something was off and with Sharon he knew her stories resonated.
“I don’t want to just put out a book, to put out a book, I want to put out books that actually help people,” said Charlton.
Acoose dedicates her book to the Elders who taught her different things and helped her change her life.
The book will be out in stores by the end of next week.
Related: FNUniv faculty member launches book on life before academics