Reviews

How We Go Home: Voices from Indigenous North America by

mollyculhane's review against another edition

5.0

Some not-yet-coherent thoughts on this remarkable, heavy, very moving book:
- It's so exciting to read a book of oral histories! I didn't know about Voice of Witness and am really looking forward to reading other books in the series. The medium lends itself to a wonderful range of stories, and reading the stories in the tellers' own voices makes them that much more powerful.
- It's one thing to know intellectually about the genocide, racism, and ongoing injustices facing Native American and First Nations people, and quite another to learn more concretely about how these injustices function in the context of people's lives.
- I'm glad that I read this book right after [b:The End of Imagination|27131081|The End of Imagination|Arundhati Roy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470694937l/27131081._SY75_.jpg|47168953]--they're pretty different, but the context of the havoc the US government facilitates in other countries makes the havoc it wreaks on Native folks even more horrifying. Again, even though I intellectually know that the settler-colonial state at best stands in the way of Native wellbeing and at worst happily commits genocide, it's still astonishing to read about how consistently the people profiled in this book have to fight the US and Canadian governments just to survive, let alone thrive. A good reminder of how much unlearning I have ahead of me!
- I was impressed by Sinclair's editorship--she included a perfect amount of context and interstitial comments, while prioritizing the voices of her narrators.

Overall, a quick but far-from-light read that made me want to learn much, much more.

babewithabookandabeer's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

booksunravel's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

purplemegant's review against another edition

emotional informative

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Colonisation

This book is heavy but necessary.

butch's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

ilinakrishen's review against another edition

Content and trigger warning for institutional violence, assault, incarceration and a*buse

rach's review against another edition

4.0

A fascinating and heartbreaking series of oral histories that tell the stories of native people of both Canada and the US. The stark way our government has failed native peoples from the first day they were established, indeed from the first day a white man stepped foot on North American soil, is horrifying and sad and so angering. These are stories we need to hear in school, so we grow up knowing them and standing against the continued injustice. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about the injustices native peoples face, what those communities are doing to heal and help themselves, and how we as allies can support and assist them.

spinesinaline's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

4.75

Full review to come but loved getting to read this collection after attending Sinclair's workshop. I need to get a copy for my shelves now 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, and Colonisation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Death of parent, and War

yeojinqueen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

Required reading in my opinion. I don’t even know the people in this book but i’m proud of them and how far they have come. This is a incredibly dark book (see content warnings) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

ktreadsnm's review against another edition

3.0

The stories in this book were heartbreakingly similar. I'm not sure I fully liked the oral history format.