They Called Me Number One

By Bev Sellars,

Book cover of They Called Me Number One: Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School

Book description

Xat’sull Chief Bev Sellars spent her childhood in a church-run residential school whose aim it was to “civilize” Native children through Christian teachings, forced separation from family and culture, and discipline. In addition, beginning at the age of five, Sellars was isolated for two years at Coqualeetza Indian Turberculosis Hospital…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked They Called Me Number One as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Xatsu’ll chief Bev Sellars spent much of her childhood in a Canadian Indian residential school called St. Joseph’s Mission and in a hospital to treat the tuberculosis she contracted while at the school. This is her first-person account of how the trauma of being taken from her family and community impacted not only her, but every member of her family for three generations. It also discusses her path to healing. The title refers to the fact that in an attempt to strip the children from all sense of their culture and identity, they were referred to by a number rather…

From Danielle's list on hidden gems by Canadian writers.

If you love They Called Me Number One...

Ad

Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up…

Want books like They Called Me Number One?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 67 books like They Called Me Number One.

Browse books like They Called Me Number One

Book cover of North of Normal: A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood, My Unusual Family, and How I Survived Both
Book cover of The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed
Book cover of Medicine Walk

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,889

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like They Called Me Number One, you might also like...

Book cover of Changing Woman: A Novel of the Camp Grant Massacre

Changing Woman by Venetia Hobson Lewis,

Arizona Territory, 1871. Valeria Obregón and her ambitious husband, Raúl, arrive in the raw frontier town of Tucson hoping to find prosperity. Changing Woman, an Apache spirit who represents the natural order of the world and its cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, welcomes Nest Feather, a twelve-year-old Apache girl,…

Book cover of Changing Woman: A Novel of the Camp Grant Massacre

Changing Woman by Venetia Hobson Lewis,

Arizona Territory, 1871. Valeria Obregón and her ambitious husband, Raúl, arrive in the raw frontier town of Tucson hoping to find prosperity. Changing Woman, an Apache spirit who represents the natural order of the world and its cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, welcomes Nest Feather, a twelve-year-old Apache girl,…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Canadians, tuberculosis, and Canada?

Canadians 44 books
Tuberculosis 28 books
Canada 453 books