Weeping Goes Unheard by Lucia Mann is an investigative look into the history as well as current lived experience of Indigenous peoples in Canada. I will say, this book is not an easy read. I found myself going through varying emotions of sadness, fear, disgust, and anger, and having to take pauses through the book as there was a lot handle. I am saying this as a third party reader, so I can’t even imagine living through these experiences as Indigenous peoples do. Lucia Mann goes in depth to describe the origins of Indigenous people to Canada, how they were affected by colonizers, and how the effects of colonization still haunt them to this day.

The first thing the author does it acknowledge that there may be mistakes in this book and as a reader I can appreciate that not every single fact may be 100% accurate, so I was happy to see the author added that in there. The book read like a podcast, where it wasn’t just taking stats and information, but the author was narrating the events to the reader, making it easier and more engaging to read. Being born and educated in Canada, it was saddening to see how little I knew about Indigenous history. The author does a good job of taking the reader chronologically through the events that led to and shaped Indigenous communities today. I felt the transitions between different sections and chapters to be very smooth. Additionally, these transitions and segways helped me as a reader prepare myself for some of the more triggering sections that were to come, also in themselves, serving as a trigger warning. I also liked that the author had first-hand discussions with Indigenous communities, showing their commitment to sharing the true, honesty story.

There were some aspects of the novel that could have been elaborated more on that would have helped me more as a reader. Firstly, there were speeches and legislation included that I think a summary of this would have benefited in my understanding; as some of these speeches had a lot of jargon. I also felt like I didn’t learn too much about the Indian Act of 1876 even though there was a whole chapter dedicated to it. I would have also liked for there to be a section at the end of the book identifying “further reading” to enhance my knowledge. While this book had a lot of good information, not everything could be elaborated on and I think a section like this could have helped my understanding.

In conclusion, this book was tough. There aren’t many ways I can describe it. The history of Indigenous people and how they were treated and are still treated by colonizers/the government is horrifying. But this book needs to be read, not matter how tough it is on the reader. As a child of immigrant parents, I too need to acknowledge the land I am on and what happened for the country of Canada to form. I recommend this book to anyone who is not native to their land and wish to learn more about the effects of colonization. It is only through learning and understanding that we can advocate for those who are being oppressed.