Morningstar Mercredi Launches Book!

Thank you Wayne for introducing me to yet another incredible individual working towards healing the wounded femine spirit in our society.

-Hazel.

 

An introduction to Morningstar Mercredi. I first met Morningstar about 3 years ago by way of the internet in relation to the missing vancouver women. She has written a powerful story about her life in the book ‘Morningstar: A Warrior’s Spirit.” Morningstar has been a member of the vancouvermissing group since Feb 2004 and in one of her postings to the group which appears at the end of this post, she had welcomed families to share memories of our missing and murdered loves which would appear in the chapter “Warrior Women.”

Morningstar’s book launch will start this month: Morningstar: A Warrior’s Spirit is out!!!! and being launched here in Edmonton October 14-15, Saskatoon September 26-30, 2006 and hopefull in Vancouver sometime soon.

Morningstar: A Warrior’s Spirit
Morningstar Mercredi A powerful and moving story of one woman’s victory over abuse, poverty, and discrimination to recover her life, her self-esteem and the love of her son.

Morningstar Mercredi was born and lived in the north – Fort Chipewayan and Fort McMurray in Alberta, Uranium City in Saskatchewan, and a number of small communities. Sexually abused from an early age, by family members and the boyfriends she turned to for consolation, she was promiscuous, alcoholic and a drug user by the time she was thirteen. She had a son when she was seventeen and then married at eighteen. Everything was a struggle. Days and weeks of sobriety were followed by weeks and months of drinking and self-abuse. Then, when her son was four, things began to change. Morningstar found support, from the community, from her son, and from within herself, to be a good mother, find employment, keep relationships and reconnect with her family. Today, she is a strong and creative member of her community, and eager to tell her story of defeat and ultimate triumph.

Sadly, the first part of this story is all too common, while the second is all too rare. Morningstar not only discovers her self worth and esteem, she traces her abuse to its origin in history, freeing her from her cycle of self sabotage as she comes to terms with not only her history but a shared history among thousands of survivors who struggle with residential school syndrome. She is honest and self-critical in her descriptions of many attempts and repeated failures. She gives enormous credit to her son, for his constant love, his determination to be honest with her, and his unfailing confidence in her ability to succeed.

ISBN: 978-1-55050-346-3 or 1-55050-346-4 * $19.95 * 5½” x 8½” * Paper
256 Pages * Aboriginal Memoir * September 2006

BIOGRAPHY MEDIA RELEASE HI-RES IMAGE ORDER . EVENTS

Mercredi, Morningstar

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Morningstar Mercredi is a storyteller, actress, social activist, poet, playwright, researcher and multi-media communicator. She has previously published one non-fiction children’s book, Fort Chipewayan Homecoming, which was a finalist in the Silver Birch young reader’s choice award in Ontario. She has also had poetry published in the Gatherings Anthology series. She has done extensive acting work in film, television, radio and on the stage.

Born in Uranium City, Saskatchewan, Morningstar Mercredi has lived in Alberta — Fort Chipewayan, Calgary, and Fort McMurray; Saskatchewan – Saskatoon and Prince Albert; British Columbia – Cranbrook, Kimberly, Merritt, Penticton, and Surrey; and the Northwest Territories – Yellowknife and Rae/Edze NWT. She also settled for a time in Gisbourne, New Zealand and Nowra, Australia. She currently makes Edmonton her home.

She is honest and self-critical in her descriptions of many attempts and repeated failures. She gives enormous credit to her son, for his constant love, his determination to be honest with her, and his unfailing confidence in her ability to succeed.

Morningstar: A Warrior’s Spirit

From the author:

I opened myself totally, my experiences, my life, and with the story I wrote. I would have done a great injustice to myself and the reader had I been cautious of how, or what I wrote. As it is, I did not provide every detail, there were parts of my story I could not write. It would have been too painful. I wrote just enough to provide a glimpse into my life without completely traumatizing the reader.

Over the two years of writing, rewriting etc and then editing, I returned to events that were not only traumatizing when they happened, i.e, writing about being sexually abused. This wasn’t an easy task yet I had to tell it as it was; consequently, I road a fast and furious emotional roller coaster during that time.

Morningstar’s book is available at McNally Robinson Books: http://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/product.php?txtCatID=0&txtProdID=360197 , Amazon.ca: http://www.amazon.ca/Morningstar-Warriors-Spirit-Mercredi/dp/1550503464/ref=sr_11_1/702-8289377-0890451?ie=UTF8 , Chapter’s Bookstore: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/35/search?pageSize=10&sc=Morningstar+Mercredi&sf=Author and many other stores.

THE GLOBAL WOMEN’S MEMORIAL PROJECT
http://www.globalwomensmemorial.org/
Missing Vancouver Women
http://www.missingpeople.net/
Vanished Voices-Angela Jardine
http://www.vanishedvoices.com
Seen Me Lately
http://www.seenmelately.ca
Vancouver’s missing women group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vancouvermissing

“Justice Delayed Is Still Justice”

Highway of Tears
http://www.highwayoftears.ca
Please help find our daughter
http://www.findfran.com
Sex Trade Workers of Canada
http://www.sextradeworkersofcanada.com
Missing & unidentified Victim’s organization
http://www.doenetwork.org/
Outpost for Hope
http://www.outpostforhope.org/