Come Walk With Me: A Memoir

by Beatrice Mosionier

In 1983, the book In Search of April Raintree was published to great acclaim, heralding the voice of an important new writer, Beatrice Mosionier (then Culleton). With honesty and clarity, Mosionier explored the story of two Métis sisters as they struggle with loss, identity, and racism. Yet readers have long how much of April’s story comes from the author’s own life? Come Walk With Me, Beatrice’s answer to that question, is a moving memoir that follows a bewildered three-year-old through a dramatic journey to adulthood. Recounting a life that, at times, parallels that of her most memorable fictional character, and at others, diverges from it, Mosionier searches to make sense of her losses―her sundered family, her innocence, and her dignity―only to triumph as a woman and writer, fulfilled artistically, politically, and personally.

Genres: Nonfiction

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

aka Beatrice Culleton
aka Beatrice Culleton Mosionier

Reviews

[Mrsgaskell]

This memoir by the author of In Search of April Raintree sheds light on the question of how much the novel is based on the author’s own experience. The author was raised in foster care from the age of three, when she and her three siblings were taken from their alcoholic parents. Beatrice spent ten years with a family in St. Norbert, and for part of that time she and her sister Vivian were together. She saw the others only at family visits arranged by Family Services. Eventually she lost touch with her family for many years. Both of her sisters committed suicide, and it was after this that she wrote April Raintree, trying to come to terms with her life experiences. The memoir is interspersed with interviews that shed light on her mother’s life. This is well worth reading in conjunction with the novel.

[Christine]

A fantastic, eye-opening read.

[Jenna]

I enjoyed this memoir, I just wish there had been a little bit more information about In Search of April Raintree.