This story, like many, begins with the narrator’s ancestry and connection to a place. Briefly describe where Saul’s family originally came from, and where he is writing from in the present and why?

Saul is part of a therapy group at The New Dawn Centre, a treatment facility. The treatments are informed by Anishinabeg traditions, but Saul is still frustrated by them—the counselors are never quiet, and they expect him to talk just as much as they do. He’s thirty years old, older than most of the other patients, and he gets tired of sitting around and talking all day. Despite his irritation with the Centre, the treatment is working—he’s gone weeks without alcohol and feels healthier for it, although he still sometimes craves a drink. Now, the counselors are pushing him to continue his recovery by sharing his story. Although most of the patients choose to tell theirs aloud, he decides to write instead.

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