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In many ways, Carmen Aguirre is a typical Canadian. She came to this country with her family when she was six years old. She now works as a writer and theatre artist.
   
Aguirre was born in Chile. Her family fled their homeland, feeling threatened after Gen. Augusto Pinochet overthrew Chile’s democratically elected president, Salvador Allende, on Sept. 11, 1973.
   
Carmen and her family settled in Vancouver, home to a large Chilean community. Five years later, the Chilean resistance asked exiled activists to return to Latin America to help free their country from Pinochet’s brutal dictatorship.
   
Most of the Chilean exiles who answered the call arranged for their children to be raised by supporters or relatives, but Aguirre’s mother took her and her sister with her as she and her partner worked against Pinochet.
   
Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter (Douglas & McIntyre) is Aguirre’s story of her remarkable childhood, which included being raised by political activists and involved in the struggle against authoritarianism.
   
On arriving in Latin America, the author’s mother and stepfather set up a safe house in La Paz. Mysterious people came and went, and young Carmen learned not to ask questions. The family lived a double life and the story moves from Bolivia to Peru, Argentina and Chile.
   
Aguirre notes that she was a rebellious child, unlike her more conservative younger sister. Of course, that meant she was more aligned with her revolutionary parents. Finally, at the age of 18, Aguirre decided to join the resistance.
   
Aguirre writes movingly about the confusion she felt during those years; she was so young. She describes the strain placed on the family by her mother’s commitment to the cause and the sacrifices they all had to make, sometimes not entirely willingly.
   
It’s a funny story, too, with the dating foibles of a headstrong teenager who just happens to be involved in a resistance movement. It can be so very difficult fighting for what you believe in.
   
Last week, Something Fierce, ably advocated for by hip hopper Shad, won Canada Reads, CBC’s literary gladiator contest. It won despite the ridiculous, offensive claim from one of the judges that Aguirre is a terrorist who never should have been allowed into Canada. Rhetorical bomb-throwing, like tossing the word "terrorist" around carelessly, is completely destructive to a debate.
   
Surprisingly, that judge seems to have overcome her aversion to Aguirre and her story, and voted for the book in the finale. (She was quoted as saying that she came to the final vote undecided.)
   
It seems to me that an individual who actively sought to promote freedom from oppression is someone Canada should be proud to welcome — especially when she has such a remarkable, enthralling story to tell.