New book Goodbye Buffalo Bay is a winner

Dear readers ... Please pass the word...

Award-winning Cree writer Larry Loyie's new book, Goodbye Buffalo Bay, will be out in a few weeks from Theytus Books.

Larry has written his first chapter book and we (Larry and Constance Brissenden) are really excited about it. As writers, we've learned we have to work hard to write and promote Larry's wonderful books. We truly appreciate the readers, librarians, teachers and many more who believe in Larry's authentic, issues-based, culturally themed books and tell others about them. Thank you!

Larry's new book, Goodbye Buffalo Bay, isn't out yet (available mid-October from Theytus Books) but it's already getting great response from pre-publication readers.

The subject "A true story of life in a residential school...and moving on" is timely due to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's recent apology to residential school students, survivors, and their families. It is more than 12 years since Larry Loyie first wrote about residential school. As Larry says, "There were times when I gave a presentation that listeners expressed disbelief about the horrible history of residential school, what happened to us as children, and how it affected our families. Now I can speak about my personal history and the history of the schools and know that I will be believed."

The new book is written with compassion, wit, drama, action, perception, and hope. It encourages readers to have courage, value friendship, look deep inside to make positive change, to read and make their goals come true.

Here's what Loriene Roy (Anishnabe), past president of the American Library Association, has to say:

I love the story! Goodbye Buffalo Bay will break your heart, lift you up, and leave you longing to follow Cree author Larry Loyie's remarkable life to the present day.

From stories of heartbreak and deep friendships developed in a residential school to the triumph of learning how to do a man's job, Goodbye Buffalo Bay continues Larry Loyie's remarkable journey as a modern Cree man.

Larry Loyie's story is full of lessons -- of conquering anger with assertiveness, of the secret strength of reading, of living a traditional Cree life in today's world.

Larry Loyie's six years at a residential school is a story of hope and endurance -- from dreaming of eating carrots, discovering his dream to become a writer, to standing firm in the face of injustice.

In this autobiography, Cree author Larry Loyie captures the hope, intense injustice, and lessons learned through six years at a residential school and emergence into strong young manhood.

Larry Loyie writes of some of the most difficult times a young person can face with tenderness, strength, soft Native humour, and hope.

We also want to share what professional editor Lynne Hussey in Toronto had to say:

Fantastic read! Really powerful, vivid images and well-paced story. Written with such clarity and passion and pared (edited) to the bone. Congratulations!

Please note: Larry and I will continue to share our experiences about the new book in future blogs.