Engaging and immersive. A recommended purchase for collections where memoir, pop culture, and indigenous lit are popular.

I absolutely loved this book! I found it hard to put down. I highly recommend reading it! You won’t be disappointed.

I ended up buying a finished copy of this book as I couldn't read the e-ARC before it was released. This was a very impactful book and should be a must-read for all Canadians. Jesse Wente shares his experiences as an Indigenous man navigating the world of Canadian media many times as the only Indigenous person in the room while reflecting on his experiences with racism, trauma, and colonial Canada. Really enjoyed this book and am grateful to have had the opportunity to read this book.

4-4.5 stars

Unreconciled is a thoughtful and searing indictment of Canada's history of colonialism, and its present-day impacts. Powerful and poignant, this book explores the long lasting and far-reaching impacts of colonialism, told through reflection, and often alongside stories and evidence from Wente's own life.

Jesse Wente is a masterful storyteller, which is made abundantly clear in his powerful debut memoir. I read it as an ebook (PDF), and in lieu of highlighting or underlining passages, I took so many screenshots of passages, paragraphs, and lines that stuck with me.

I learnt so much, I felt so much, and I raged so much -- this was such an immersive and powerful read. It's truly a must read for every Canadian - not just because our history of colonialism needs to be discussed more, but also because of Wente's impact on, and vision for Canada's arts and culture scene. I really appreciated Wente's (fair and thoughtful) criticism of the use of the term "reconciliation" - and the last chapter was a powerful and inspiration call to action, and reminder that creating a better future, and reconciling and addressing the harms of the past is a collective responsibility.

This was a fascinating memoir and commentary about history, culture, media, reconciliation, and identity. Wente uses his own grandmother’s history to explore the generational impact of the residential school system on families. He shares his own personal story while weaving historical facts and contemporary issues into the narrative to present a powerful call-to-action.

Unreconciled is an amazing but mostly extremely book to read! Unreconciled addresses really important themes of colonialism and racism and how that is all playing out in present day. Unreconciled is a must-read and most importantly a call-to-action to do better.

In this part memoir and part historical commentary with contemporary calls-to-action, Jesse Wente has crafted a nonfiction account that is a welcome and necessary addition to Indigenous literature.

Jesse Wente, an Ojibwe man, arts journalist, and more recently the chairperson of the Canada Council for the Arts discusses his personal and professional experiences from an Indigenous perspective. He covers many topics, but the ones that stood out to me were his family’s experience in residential schools, working in predominantly and historically white spaces, and advocating for Indigenous content by Indigenous creators. He discusses how some of his privileges gave him the confidence and courage to ask for what he needed in his social justice work.

Growing up with the privilege of having wealthy paternal grandparents, Jesse struggled with the mental burden of feeling like he was not the “right” kind of Indigenous, of not being Indigenous “enough,” or in other cases, of feeling “too” Indigenous in certain social situations. To my mind, as someone who is Métis and First Nations, if someone identifies as indigenous, then they are indigenous. So long as it’s not a white person claiming to be a Cherokee princess or to have indigenous ancestry when it’s apparent that they do not. There is no “right” kind of indigenous. Just because you may have more wealth and privileges doesn’t make you any less indigenous, Jesse.

Another interesting topic that came up was something called the “Appropriation Prize.” I had never heard of this before. I thought the author was calling it that sarcastically, but then I Googled it, and it turns out that that was its actual name. In 2017, it was a proposed prize for writers, namely white authors, to appropriate knowingly other people’s culture in their writing. Why anyone thought they were more capable of telling the stories of marginalized voices than said marginalized voices is beyond me. Imagine waking up one day and asking yourself: ‘whose culture can I capitalize on today to win this prize?’ The audacity.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Jesse is a great storyteller; there were several instances when I forgot I was reading nonfiction. I sometimes struggle to get through nonfiction books, but this one was so engaging that it wasn’t an issue for me this time.

I will be picking up my own copy of this ASAP.

If my review hasn’t convinced you to read this, Thomas King’s should: “Unreconciled is one hell of a good book.”

Thank you to Allen Lane/Penguin Random House Canada for the arc provided via Netgalley.

I am really glad I read this book. This book tells the story of an Ojibwe man from childhood to middle age. Jesse Wente shared his experiences of racism, family trauma, and time working in the Canadian media, all of which relates to his identity as an Indigenous person in Canada. Near the end of the story, Wente reminds readers that reconciliation cannot happen without truth. I think that reading stories like this one will help Canadians come to terms with that truth so that we can begin to make progress in the 94 calls to action or the TRC. As a white Canadian, I think this is a must read for anyone like me. While extremely informative, it is also interesting and includes a personal touch wherever it is appropriate. Thank you Penguin Random House and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. I look forward to recommending it to friends and family!

This is a powerful personal memoir that highlights major issues in Canada's history, contemporary political landscape, and arts and media worlds. The author is a major figure in the CBC/TIFF scene and now leads the Indigenous Screen Office. Some of the best parts of the memoir, for me, were the places the author signals other creators to support or flags problematic films that I now won't watch or will look at in a different way. The concepts of narrative sovereignty and creation as the opposite of colonial extraction are ones that I hope are routinely discussed in classrooms and taken seriously by funders.

This is an incredible book. I highly suggest every non-Indigenous Canadian such as myself read this. Wente covers a lot of ground and provides the reader with a lot of information, facts & insights with a particular focus on the film/media industry.

Should be required reading for Canadians - alongside The Inconvenient Indian, 21 Things You May Not Know about the Indian Act, Black Water and From the Ashes

Unreconciled is a brutally honest look at Jesse Wente's unique experience. He explores his connection to his family, his communities (Serpent River and Toronto) and his professional affiliations. I appreciated his insider view of the CBC and TIFF. His is a perspective we have not seen in Canadian non-fiction. Jesse Wente takes a deep dive into the problematic idea of tokenism. This is a book we should be reading, talking about and internalizing. I will be recommending to as many people (customers, colleagues, friends and family) as possible.

Thank you for the early look at this instant classic.