When residential schools opened in the 1830s, First Nations envisioned their own teachers, ministers, and interpreters. Instead, students were regularly forced to renounce their cultures and languages and some were subjected to degradations and abuses that left severe emotional scars for generations. In this book, fourteen aboriginal women who attended residential schools, or were affected by them, reflect on their experiences. They describe their years in residential schools across Canada and how they overcame tremendous obstacles to become strong and independent members of aboriginal cultures and valuable members of Canadian society.

Women profiled include: Eleanor Brass, Journalist, Plains Cree, Saskatchewan ; Rita Joe, Poet/Writer, Mi'kmaq, Nova Scotia ; Alice French, Writer, Inuit, Northwest Territories ; Shirley Sterling, School Administrator/Storyteller, Nlaka'pamux, British Columbia ; Doris Pratt, Education Administrator/Language Specialist, Dakota, Manitoba ; Edith Dalla Costa, School Counsellor, Woodland Cree, Alberta ; Sara Sabourin, Community Worker, Ojibway, Ontario.