A review by nmcannon
A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

5.0

I first heard of Ma-Nee Chacaby’s autobiography on Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian’s blog, when she featured it as a finalist for the 2016 Lambda Literary Awards. Since it’s a Canadian publication from a university press, I never expected to see it out in the wild. I suppose I should never doubt my local library! When I saw A Two-Spirit Journey on the shelf, I froze for a good second in shock before snatching it up.

Chronicling her life from childhood to ~2013, the autobiography isn’t light reading, but even the lowest of the low points are buoyed by Chacaby’s gentle, plain-speaking voice. She carries herself through truly harrowing experiences. Her indigenous lifeways are her lifeline. My heart bled and bloomed by turns. Once Chacaby reached adulthood, it was lovely to witness her happiness, though obviously recovery isn’t linear. What impressed me the most is how Chacaby, after escaping toxic situations, would dive right back in there to help others. Barely escaping with her kids from an extremely abusive marriage, she took on other people’s children via fostering and adoption. Working as a counselor returned her to the home insecure communities she was barely out of herself. For the historians in the crowd, I highly recommend A Two-Spirit Journey as a primary source for life in late 20thc. Canada, especially for people who share Chacaby’s identities.

In the back matter, Mary Louisa Plummer explains her methodology for the book. Her and Chacaby’s commitment to her voice and the stranger’s accessibility work together wonderfully. I felt honored to be able to listen to Chacaby’s story, like I was listening to a grandmother over tea. I want to read more autobiographies like Chacaby’s, and I’ve already had a promising start with Deborah A. Miranda’s Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir. Miranda’s experience sits comfortably side-by-side with Chacaby’s: the one informs the other. I also wish Chacaby a very pleasant All The Money. The shrinkage of social services over the course of the novel was awful. Despite how many lives she’d touched, despite how many people she’s helped, Chacaby lives on a pittance. But, importantly, she still lives.

Chacaby’s autobiography is very important reading for everyone, especially for anyone interested in learning about two-spirit indigenous lives. Chacaby and Plummer have given us a gift.

Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian’s blog post: https://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wordpress.com/2017/03/21/the-seven-canadian-and-indigenous-lambda-finalists-im-most-excited-about/ 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Grief, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Torture, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: Police brutality

Chacaby doesn't dwell on the horrible things that happened to her. She's very matter of fact. I would tag most of the content warnings as "Minor," but some occur with such frequency that I bumped them up to "Moderate" or "Graphic."