Holy crepe, I was not ready for this book. It combines the raw emotion of Harjo's poems with a very difficult personal history, similar to the book Educated. I am impressed by Harjo's artistry and I would like to read more of her work, but for now I need some time to process everything I've read. ( )

This is the first book I've read by author Joy Harjo. Her writing and poetry are amazing. I connected easily with her and my heart and soul were troubled by her troubled and lifted up through her poetry shared in the book. I now want to read more of Joy Harjo's work. A must read in my view. ( )

tired of drinking, getting pregnant. husband gets drunk and beats you, then you come to and get a PHD. ( )

When Sun leaves at dusk, it makes a doorway.
We have access to ancestors, to eternity.
Breathe out.
Ask for forgiveness.
Let all hurts and failures go.
Let them go.

Thus ends Harjo's memoir of her early life, and her path to poetry. This epilogue seems to encapsulate her world view, the way she goes about life - with a deep connection to the deep genetics of her ancestors, the searing pain of her young life, and the quickening yearn to abdicate the latter and make room for the former. Her journey to poetry is the journey of all to hope.

Those coming to the book need to be patient with the narrative, as it is not always a Western, linear one. One thought connects to the past, and the past, and the past, before returning. It's a Native narrative form, and it creates that space necessary to put things into a broader and more deeply connected personal history.

Of finally allowing poetry into her life, she writes:

To imagine the spirit of poetry is much like imagining the shape and size of the knowing. It is a kind of resurrection light; it is the tall ancestor spirit who was been with me since the beginning, or a bear or hummingbird. It is a hundred horses running the land in a soft mist, or it is a woman undressing for her beloved in firelight. It is more than everything. 'You're coming with me, poor thing. You don't know how to listen. You don't know how to speak. You don't know how to sing. I will teach you.' I followed poetry.

5 bones!!!!!

Highly recommended. ( )

nonfiction/memoir - Muskogee-Creek poet/writer, artist, mother, survivor of domestic abuse, and woman with anxiety/panic attacks.
It is very much possible that other people experience a spiritual connection that is beyond my comprehension; I didn't get much out of her poems/dreams/stories but I will trust that there is significance there that is just over my head. Even so, I enjoyed her writing and thought this was worth a read. ( )