The acclaimed book that has exhorted Canadians to make social healing in Aboriginal communities an immediate national priority, now available in paperback.

Over the past fifteen years, Canada's Aboriginal healing community has emerged as a vital and visible force. Creative recovery programs have been established across the country, and international initiatives such as the "Healing Our Spirit Worldwide" gatherings have originated here. The Canadian government has thrown millions of dollars at the issue of addictions, yet alcoholism, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, drug abuse and gambling are epidemic today in the lives of Aboriginal people.

 

Where the Pavement Ends is filled with inspiring stories gathered from journalist Marie Wadden's discussions with activists across Canada who are involved in the Aboriginal healing movement. But the book is also a passionate wake-up call aimed at all Canadians. Existing government policies, Wadden argues, perpetuate the problems that are tearing Aboriginal families and communities apart. We must make social healing in Aboriginal communities an immediate national priority. We must also demand public policy that guarantees First Nations, Inuit and M�tis people the right to live as full and equal citizens. In these ways, we can offer true support to these marginalized communities.

Marie Wadden is CBC Radio’s network producer in Newfoundland and the author of Nitassinan: The Innu Struggle to Reclaim their Homeland, which won the Edna Staebler Award for creative nonfiction. Her radio and television work in Newfoundland and Quebec has also been recognized with Canadian and U.S. awards. In 2005, she received the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy, which allowed her to write Where the Pavement Ends. She lives in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Marie Wadden's profile page

• Nominated, Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing
• Nominated, Newfoundland & Labrador Book Prize
• Nominated, Winterset Award

"Through 21 short essays, Where the Pavement Ends paints a panoramic portrait of the Aboriginal situation in Canada...Wadden writes with the eye of an investigative journalist and the control of a novelist. Her prose is calm and informed, making Where the Pavement Ends an ideal entry-point for those interested in learning about Aboriginal issues for the first time."

The Tyee

"This is a rare case in which a journalist has taken on the chore of voicing the solutions her subjects have come up with...This is not a book that will appeal to readers looking for escapism, but it will be food for thought for those with a conscience who truly want to know what all the fuss is about."

The Telegram

"The 'urgent' in the title of this eye-opening account of addiction among Canada's first nations citizens is no hyperbole. Were the stark facts and heartrending episodes recounted by Marie Wadden related to the experience of almost any other segment of our population, they would be regarded as a national scandal...While celebrating the self-generated recovery movement among first peoples, Wadden calls for Canadian society to accepts its responsibility now and in the future."

Globe & Mail

"There is a lot to applaud about this book. Where the Pavement Ends occupies a rare space on the aboriginal studies bookshelf, because it is about hope...Marie Wadden's commitment to aboriginal reconciliation issues comes through at every turn of the page. If only the rest of society would pay this much attention, we might be able to get somewhere."

Literary Review of Canada

"Wadden introduces us to an amazing group of caring, knowledgeable people who have chosen to stay on the reserve and work to improve the lives of their neighbours. The successes these local initiatives have achieved should be an inspiration to all Canadians."

Canadian Newsblog

"Where the Pavement Ends is filled with inspiring stories gathered from journalist Marie Wadden's discussions with activists across Canada who are involved in the Aboriginal healing movement. But the book is also a passionate wake-up call aimed at All Canadians."

CBC Aboriginal

"Wadden's primary purpose is not to despair: it's to advocate ways to make things better, and this is why her book is particularly valuable...Wadden doesn't suggest that there's an easy fix. But her concluding chapter -- with recommendations and a 12-step action plan -- seems both reasonable and achievable. Her triumph is in making hope seem viable."

Montreal Gazette

"[Wadden] demonstrates conclusively why throwing billions of dollars in outside-designed program funding at isolated communities is doomed to failure...Her advocacy of an end to both Indian Act waste and assimilationist notions, and for increased training and reliable multi-year funding that will give the healing movement the resources it is waiting for, is a message all Canadians should hear and absorb."

Toronto Star

"The treatment of First Nations in this country has been a crime...But acknowledging collective guilt, while an important first step, isn't sufficient. The real challenge remains how to make aboriginal communities whole again...That's why Marie Wadden's Where the Pavement Ends is such an important book."

Ottawa Citizen