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coralie_michon's review
5.0
elle est une femme si courageuse pour avoir trouvé la force d'écrire et publier cette collection d'essais et j'en suis particulièrement reconnaissante. elle donne au lecteur la chance de réfléchir sur plusieurs éléments de la culture nord américaine basée sur le colonialisme et l'effacement du passé. elle met en lumière plusieurs conséquences de l'arrivée des européens sur les territoires autochtones que nous voyons pas du premier regard. elle le fait à travers d'anecdotes de sa propre vie, ce qui a un effet immense sur notre perception de la situation.
elle raconte la vérité sur le racisme, le colonisation, le génocide, l'arrachement de culture, la violence, les injustices, la pauvreté, les réserves, les tentatives d'assimilation, la santé mentale, les abus sexuels et plusieurs autres éléments qui l'ont touchées, elle et sa communauté. elle parle de façon crue, directe, certaine. elle n'a pas peur d'exprimer ses opinions et raconter son expérience. elle s'en est sortie, elle en est très reconnaissante. elle connait sa chance, chance qu'une grande majorité des siens n'ont pas eu par le passé, n'ont pas en ce moment et n'auront jamais dans le futur.
lire cette oeuvre a changé ma vie. étudiant en histoire, j'ai eu plusieurs cours de l'histoire nord-américaine. jamais, au grand jamais, je n'ai eu l'opportunité d'en apprendre autant sur la culture indigène et jamais, je n'ai appris toutes ses injustices. le curriculum canadien cache beaucoup de secret par rapport au passé ( quoique le présent n'est pas transparent non plus ) et je me sens reconnaissante d'avoir eu la chance de lire ce livre et de me renseigner sur les enjeux actuels en lien avec le passé paternaliste canadien.
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racism, Sexual assault, and Colonisation
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Grief, and Cultural appropriation
littlecat's review
4.75
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy
Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, and Rape
linkamarisa's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Hate crime, Mental illness, and Racism
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexual violence, Police brutality, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
kelly_e's review against another edition
4.5
Author: Alicia Elliott
Genre: Non Fiction Essays
Rating: 4.5
Pub Date: March 26 2019
T H R E E • W O R D S
Honest • Eye-opening • Informative
📖 S Y N O P S I S
A deeply personal collection of essays by Haudenosaunee writer Alicia Elliott, this book is an exploration of poverty, race, intergenerational trauma, mental illness, love, belonging and Indigenous relations.
💭 T H O U G H T S
This collection of essays is so powerful! For me, it's always the sign of a great book when it challenges me to confront and challenge my own assumptions. This is certainly not an easy read, and nor should it be. It is a key piece of Indigenous Canadian literature that will make you think and want to do better.
Alicia Elliot delivers a collection of both critical and narrative essays in a thoughtful and insightful manner. She covers a lot of ground from mental illness to colonialism to trauma to Indigenous culture, and yet each topic has its place. It's easy enough to read one essay at a time, as each one covers a different subject, and yet she transitions smoothly from one essay to the next interconnecting them in a way only a gifted writer can. She is such an intelligent writer because this structure was perfect for the subject matter. Her writing is raw, honest, compelling and beautiful yet haunting as well. The addition of a interactive portion to this book was so beneficial to me as a reader.
This is a voice we need to hear. A Mind Spread Out on the Ground will open your eyes, it may make you uncomfortable, but I can guarantee you will think and learn so much. It is worth everyone's time, because even you don't end up loving it, you will without a doubt have added value to your reading life.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Everyone!
• readers who want to learn
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"I remembered all the times I've pointed our racism in my life and the white people around me claimed I was imaging it. I remembered that, eventually, I started to wonder if I really was imaging it. I am always made to feel as if I am imagining it."
"Instead of looking at the horrors Canada has inflicted upon us and linking them to our current health issues, Canada has chosen to blame our biology, as though those very genes they're blaming weren't marked by genocide, too. This is how a once thriving, healthy population comes to be 'inherently unhealthy'. It wasn't the genocide that centuries of Canadian officials enacted upon us that was the problem; it was how we reacted to that genocide, It was our fault, our bodies' faults."
"It's easy to tells a person who has a physical illness that they are not their cold, or their diabetes, or their stroke. Their illness is something that happens to them, affects their life - sometimes in incredibly difficult ways - but it still isn't them. It's harder to make that distinction when you have a mental illness that completely changes the way you express your personality, they way you interact with others, the way you see the world. Where do you end and where does you sickness begin?"
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Genocide and Sexual assault
ohlhauc's review
Her simple, no-holds-barred style of writing will make you think about topics on colonialism, racism, privilege, media representation, effects of poverty and intergenerational trauma, and more. Definitely look at content warnings as some heavy topics are discussed but if you are in the frame of mind to read about those things, this is a must-read for anyone interested in indigenous issues, intergenerational ideas, media, and memoir.
My favourite essays in the collection were:
-A Mind Spread Out on the Ground
-Weight
-34 Grams Per Dose
-On Forbidden Rooms and Intentional Forgetting
But all of the essays were wonderful and worth the read. A new favourite book! I can't wait for more work to be published by this author.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Racism
Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Genocide, Sexual content, and Forced institutionalization
stephskees's review
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Murder
rini's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Police brutality
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Cancer and Drug abuse
sarah984's review
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, and Police brutality
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Religious bigotry
whatannikareads's review
4.75
I really enjoyed this collection! I think Alicia's writing style is really accessible and almost conversational; she walks us through various aspects of her upbringing and how it relates to a broader commentary on being Native in modern North America. My favorite aspects where when she highlighted how many Native women have been killed and left, as if people still have this "hunting Indians" complex they want to fulfill. Unfortunately, I hadn't heard of these unjustified murders—to no surprise to anyone.
Her essay on sexual assault touched me so, so deeply and I could write an essay on how it made me feel. I hope she knows how much that essay meant to me as someone who's been SA'd (trigger warning, btw).
There were some essays that were just fine but I overall enjoyed it and learned a lot, so I'm giving Alicia her flowers. She reframed how I look at a few things (see: essay on photographs). Read more Indigenous authors! This is a great place to start.
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia