The crimes carried out at St. Paul’s Indian Residential School in North Vancouver scarred untold numbers of Indigenous children and families across generations. Sam George was one of these children. Sam’s story follows his childhood growing up on the Eslhá7an (Mission) reserve to St. Paul’s, where he weathered physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Sam spent much of his life navigating the effects of this trauma – prison, addiction, and challenging relationships – until he found the strength to face his past. Now an Elder and educator with the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, Sam shares his harrowing story, in his own words. An ember of Sam’s spirit always burned within him, and even in the darkest of places he retained his humour and dignity.