By CKOM News Staff

Sask. residential school survivor, author Augie Merasty dies at 87

Feb 28, 2017 | 2:31 PM

A residential school survivor who found a measure of fame late in his life has died.
 
Joseph “Augie” Merasty was living on the streets of Prince Albert when he penned The Education of Augie Merasty, a memoir released in 2015.
 
The book documents a decade of abuse Merasty suffered at a residential school near Sturgeon Lake.
 
His daughter Arlene sat down with Meeting Ground host David Kirton shorty after the book launched.
 
At that time, she said seeing her father’s experiences laid bare on the page allowed her to finally understand some of the trauma from her own upbringing.
 
“I have actually, kind of, seen what my Dad went through. Some of the punishments that he went through, me and my family went through,” she said.
 
Arlene said the book went a long way to helping her heal.
 
“After reading his book, I was able to say something I have not said since I was seven years old. And that’s, ‘I forgive you Dad and I love you.’”
 
Merasty died Monday in Prince Albert. He was 87.

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