i heard a crow before i was born

i heard a crow before i was born. i heard tsó ka'we before i was born. i heard a crow before i was born opens with a dream-memory that transforms into a stark, poetic reflection on the generational trauma faced by many Indigenous families. Jules Delorme was born to resentful and abusive parents, in a world in which he never felt he belonged. Yet, buoyed by the love shown to him by his tóta (grandmother) and his many animal protectors, Delorme gained the strength to reckon with his brutal childhood in this transformative and evocative memoir. Across chapters that tell of his troubled relationships, Delorme unwraps the pain at the centre of his own story: residential schools and the aftershocks that continue to reverberate. In this stunning testament to the power of storytelling -- to help us grieve and to help us survive -- Delorme tells the story of his spirit as he embraces the contradictions of his identity. As he writes, "i heard a crow before i was born is a man looking back, and dreaming back, and seeing that, life, in whatever form it takes, however harsh it might seem, is beautiful."