Jo Harjo, celebrated poet of Creek (Mvskoke) and Cherokee heritage, tells about the many obstacles she faced as a girl and a young woman in Crazy Brave: A Memoir.
"When I lived in Tahlequah I used to walk through town, up and down hills, along the creek, by storefronts filled with items I had no money to buy. I walked when I was hugely pregnant and then after my son was born. It was my time alone. As I walked I could hear my abandoned dreams making a racket in my soul."
It was through artistic expression that Harjo saved herself. She divides her life into four parts: East (direction of beginnings); North (where the difficult teachers live); West (direction of endings); and South (the place of transformation and release). Spirit, mind, heart and body come together as she finds her true path.
Heartfelt and inspiring.
Readalikes: Half-Breed (Maria Campbell); The Turquoise Ledge (Leslie Marmon Silko); This Is a Small Northern Town (Rosanna Deerchild).
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