Larry Audlaluk’s life story is recounted in this important memoir that outlines the experiences and immense hardships experienced by his family throughout a forced life in the desolate High Arctic. Audlaluk’s family was one of several who were forcibly relocated in the High Arctic Relocation Program to some of the most inhospitable climates on Earth while being severed from the land that they and their ancestors had been living on since time immemorial. Their experiences of being uprooted from their homes and denied ties to their family and cultural practices, paired with extreme circumstances, is a story of survival against all odds. He shares how important reconnection to family, land, and culture has been in order for him to be a whole person despite such obstacles. Larry Audlulak is an Inuit writer and received the Order of Canada in 2007.

Cautions / Content Warnings: Sexual abuse, mature content, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, and death.
Other End Matter: Glossary
Images: Colour photographs, b&w photographs
Contributor Affiliation: Larry Audlaluk (Inuit)
Bibliography: Yes
Index: No

Source: Books BC - Indigenous Books for Schools

Larry Audlaluk was born in Uugaqsiuvik, a small camp west of Inujjuak in northern Quebec. He was relocated to the High Arctic with his family when he was almost three years old. Larry was inducted into the Order of Canada for his years working as an ambassador for the people of Grise Fiord, Canada’s northernmost civilian settlement, and is the community’s longest-living resident.

Larry Audlaluk's profile page

• Short-listed, Governor General's Literary Award for Non-fiction
• Short-listed, John W. Dafoe Book Prize for Non-Fiction Excellence

"Amid some terrible histories, Audlaluk offers moments of unexpected tenderness and beauty."—Literary Review of Canada

"Weaving together his own memories and interviews with family and friends, Audlaluk writes like a storyteller...This book will be eye-opening for southern Canadians who are just now realizing the depth of the history they were never taught."—Broadview Magazine

"If those interested in the modern history of the Inuit people of eastern Canada were to read just one book on the subject, Larry Audlaluk's What I Remember, What I Know, should be it."—Arctic Book Review

Larry Audlaluk’s life story is recounted in this important memoir that outlines the experiences and immense hardships experienced by his family throughout a forced life in the desolate High Arctic. Audlaluk’s family was one of several who were forcibly relocated in the High Arctic Relocation Program to some of the most inhospitable climates on Earth while being severed from the land that they and their ancestors had been living on since time immemorial. Their experiences of being uprooted from their homes and denied ties to their family and cultural practices, paired with extreme circumstances, is a story of survival against all odds. He shares how important reconnection to family, land, and culture has been in order for him to be a whole person despite such obstacles.

Books BC - Indigenous Books for Schools