Jose Amaujaq Kusugak was a teacher, historian, and leader. He was president of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated from 1994 to 2000 and was elected president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami in 2000. He died in 2011 in Kangiq¿iniq (Rankin Inlet).

"Then one day a 'flyable' took me away from our world through the sky to a dark and desolate place."
Jose Kusugak had a typical Arctic childhood, growing up playing games, enjoying food caught by hunters, and watching his mother preparing skins. But he was one of the first generation of Inuit children who were taken from their homes and communities and sent to live in residential schools. In this moving and candid memoir, Jose tells of his experiences at residential school and the lifelong effects it had on him.