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Spirit run : a 6,000-mile marathon through North America's stolen land /

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Catapult, [2020]Copyright date: 2020Description: xviii, 218 pages ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781948226462
  • 1948226464
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 796.42092 23
Summary: Growing up in Yakima, Washington, Noe Alvarez worked at an apple-packing plant alongside his mother, who "slouched over a conveyor belt of fruit, shoulder to shoulder with mothers conditioned to believe this was all they could do with their lives." A university scholarship offered escape, but as a first-generation Latino college-goer, Alvarez struggled to fit in. At nineteen, he learned about a Native American/First Nations movement called the Peace and Dignity Journeys, epic marathons meant to renew cultural connections across North America. He dropped out of school and joined a group of Dene, Secwepemc, Gitxsan, Dakelh, Apache, Tohono O'odham, Seri, Purepecha, and Maya runners, all fleeing difficult beginnings. Telling their stories alongside his own, Alvarez writes about a four-month-long journey from Canada to Guatemala that pushed him to his limits. He writes not only of overcoming hunger, thirst, and fear--dangers included stone-throwing motorists and a mountain lion--but also of asserting Indigenous and working-class humanity in a capitalist society where oil extraction, deforestation, and substance abuse wreck communities. Running through mountains, deserts, and cities, and through the Mexican territory his parents left behind, Alvarez forges a new relationship with the land, and with the act of running, carrying with him the knowledge of his parents' migration, and--against all odds in a society that exploits his body and rejects his spirit--the dream of a liberated future.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Home library Collection Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Standard Loan Coeur d'Alene Library Adult Biography Coeur d'Alene Library Book B ALVAREZ ALVAREZ (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 50610021830224
Standard Loan Hayden Library Adult Biography Hayden Library Book ALVAREZ-ALVAREZ (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 50610022325034
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In this New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, the son of working-class Mexican immigrants flees a life of labor in fruit-packing plants to run in a Native American marathon from Canada to Guatemala in this "stunning memoir that moves to the rhythm of feet, labor, and the many landscapes of the Americas" (Catriona Menzies-Pike, author of The Long Run ).

Growing up in Yakima, Washington, Noé Álvarez worked at an apple-packing plant alongside his mother, who "slouched over a conveyor belt of fruit, shoulder to shoulder with mothers conditioned to believe this was all they could do with their lives." A university scholarship offered escape, but as a first-generation Latino college-goer, Álvarez struggled to fit in.

At nineteen, he learned about a Native American/First Nations movement called the Peace and Dignity Journeys, epic marathons meant to renew cultural connections across North America. He dropped out of school and joined a group of Dené, Secwépemc, Gitxsan, Dakelh, Apache, Tohono O'odham, Seri, Purépecha, and Maya runners, all fleeing difficult beginnings. Telling their stories alongside his own, Álvarez writes about a four-month-long journey from Canada to Guatemala that pushed him to his limits. He writes not only of overcoming hunger, thirst, and fear--dangers included stone-throwing motorists and a mountain lion--but also of asserting Indigenous and working-class humanity in a capitalist society where oil extraction, deforestation, and substance abuse wreck communities.

Running through mountains, deserts, and cities, and through the Mexican territory his parents left behind, Álvarez forges a new relationship with the land, and with the act of running, carrying with him the knowledge of his parents' migration, and--against all odds in a society that exploits his body and rejects his spirit--the dream of a liberated future.

"This book is not like any other out there. You will see this country in a fresh way, and you might see aspects of your own soul. A beautiful run." --Luís Alberto Urrea, author of The House of Broken Angels

"When the son of two Mexican immigrants hears about the Peace and Dignity Journeys--'epic marathons meant to renew cultural connections across North America'--he's compelled enough to drop out of college and sign up for one. Spirit Run is Noé Álvarez's account of the four months he spends trekking from Canada to Guatemala alongside Native Americans representing nine tribes, all of whom are seeking brighter futures through running, self-exploration, and renewed relationships with the land they've traversed." -- Runner's World , Best New Running Books of 2020

"An anthem to the landscape that holds our identities and traumas, and its profound power to heal them." --Francisco Cantú, author of The Line Becomes a River

Growing up in Yakima, Washington, Noe Alvarez worked at an apple-packing plant alongside his mother, who "slouched over a conveyor belt of fruit, shoulder to shoulder with mothers conditioned to believe this was all they could do with their lives." A university scholarship offered escape, but as a first-generation Latino college-goer, Alvarez struggled to fit in. At nineteen, he learned about a Native American/First Nations movement called the Peace and Dignity Journeys, epic marathons meant to renew cultural connections across North America. He dropped out of school and joined a group of Dene, Secwepemc, Gitxsan, Dakelh, Apache, Tohono O'odham, Seri, Purepecha, and Maya runners, all fleeing difficult beginnings. Telling their stories alongside his own, Alvarez writes about a four-month-long journey from Canada to Guatemala that pushed him to his limits. He writes not only of overcoming hunger, thirst, and fear--dangers included stone-throwing motorists and a mountain lion--but also of asserting Indigenous and working-class humanity in a capitalist society where oil extraction, deforestation, and substance abuse wreck communities. Running through mountains, deserts, and cities, and through the Mexican territory his parents left behind, Alvarez forges a new relationship with the land, and with the act of running, carrying with him the knowledge of his parents' migration, and--against all odds in a society that exploits his body and rejects his spirit--the dream of a liberated future.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Outline of the Run (p. xi)
  • Prologue (p. xiii)
  • We
  • 1 Warehouse White Noise (p. 5)
  • 2 The "Palm Springs of Washington" (p. 21)
  • 3 Ganas in Carver Country (p. 24)
  • 4 Getting Out (p. 33)
  • 5 Walla Walla Walkabouts (p. 37)
  • 6 Cold Feet (p. 44)
  • Run
  • 7 The Arrival (p. 55)
  • 8 Tree Noodles (p. 72)
  • 9 "Indian Time" (p. 79)
  • 10 La Cruz de Campos (p. 87)
  • 11 Glacier Dip (p. 90)
  • 12 Washington Gray (p. 95)
  • 13 Goldendale (p. 99)
  • 14 An X-Man (p. 102)
  • 15 Apache Medicine (p. 108)
  • 16 Cougar Country (p. 112)
  • 17 City-Slicker Natives (p. 118)
  • 18 Tlaloc in L.A. (p. 123)
  • 19 Southern Fire (p. 128)
  • 20 Man in the Maze (p. 134)
  • 21 Running the Wrong Way (p. 139)
  • 22 The Devil's Coffin (p. 142)
  • 23 El Chapito (p. 146)
  • 24 Deer Runners (p. 147)
  • 25 Chihuahua (p. 150)
  • 26 Touch of Treasure (p. 152)
  • 27 The Rebirth of Story (p. 154)
  • 28 Nayarit (p. 157)
  • 29 Mangoes (p. 161)
  • 30 Santo Coyote (p. 164)
  • 31 Hardware Store (p. 166)
  • 32 Weaving Words (p. 168)
  • 33 The Flying Men of Teotihuacan (p. 171)
  • 34 Descending Eagle (p. 177)
  • 35 Oaxaca (p. 179)
  • 36 Zapatistas: Rebel Country (p. 182)
  • 37 Acteal (p. 187)
  • 38 Guatemala (p. 190)
  • Free
  • 39 Old Orchard (p. 195)
  • 40 Today (p. 204)
  • Acknowledgments (p. 217)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Born in Washington State to Mexican immigrant parents, Álvarez began packing apples alongside his mother at a young age, won a full scholarship to college, then dropped out to join a Native American/First Nations movement called the Peace and Dignity Journeys, months-long marathons aimed at re-creating connections across a North America that transcend current political borders. Here, Álvarez describes what running the event has taught him about himself and fellow runners and the damage done to their communities by oil extraction, deforestation, and substance abuse, even as he faces fear and hunger, mad motorists and mountain lions to triumph.

Publishers Weekly Review

Yakima native Álvarez debuts with a spellbinding narrative of his coming to terms with his place in America today. Álvarez and his parents, undocumented Mexican immigrants, worked in a Washington apple-packing plant and lived in a neighborhood where the American Dream was replaced with what Álvaraz describes as a Raymond Carver--esque "world of loneliness, tarnished relationships, and violence." While his parents immigrated to give Álvarez a better life, his father memorably tells him to "Never be like me. Like any of this. Get out while you can." Escape presents itself in the form of an acceptance letter to Whitman College, but he soon feels out of place there as a first-generation Latino student. After dropping out, he flies to British Columbia to join the Peace and Dignity Journeys, a group of about a dozen Native American/First Nations runners who have embarked on an epic, 6,000-mile trek from Alaska to Panama. Together, they sprint through lands that were stolen from their ancestors, encountering mountain lions, stone-throwing motorcyclists, and more danger and turbulence along the four-month slog. In electric prose, Álvarez writes of returning home and forging a new connection with the land and its communities: "I grow excited at the thought of becoming reacquainted with my relatives that are the land and the trees." This literary tour de force beautifully combines outdoor adventure with a sharp take on immigration. (Mar.)

Booklist Review

Like many memoirs about running, this one describes a journey of self-discovery. Spirit Run is an eloquently written memoir by a young man straddling the world of his Mexican immigrant parents in the migrant-worker community of Yakima, Washington, and the mainstream society that beckons after he receives a full-ride scholarship to college. Not unlike many first-generation minority students, he struggles with the transition. While attending a student-activist conference and workshop on Native American spirituality, he learns about a 6,000-mile relay run from Alaska to the Panama Canal called the Peace and Dignity Journey. This spiritual-prayer run takes place every four years and celebrates Indigenous people and the breaking down of barriers. Álvarez drops out of college to join the group endurance run. He traverses mountains and remote stretches of land, challenging his mental and physical abilities. This is a powerful American coming-of-age story about a Mexican American who seeks to embrace his heritage while forging his own path forward. Certain to make a lasting impression on readers across generations and backgrounds, all of whom will be inspired by the young Álvarez.--Brenda Barrera Copyright 2020 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

A swift-moving lope across the continent, courtesy of runner and debut memoirist lvarez.Born in Washington state to Mexican immigrants, the author faced a future of working in a fruit warehouse with his parents, "my dreams of ever leaving Yakima ending here." He adds, "I learned that I was poor, monolingual, and from a struggling family living the sort of day-to-day life that had no clear end in sight." Escape came in the form of an invitation to take part in a run, organized by Native American activists, that would follow a course from Alaska to Panama, where the runners would meet other runners who had come north from Tierra del Fuego, all stopping at Native American communities along the way. It was a six-month commitment to a hard project conceived by a group called Peace and Dignity Journeys, born as an offshoot of Csar Chvez's United Farm Workers. With names like Pacquiao, Trigger, and Chula Pepper, the mostly 30-something people lvarez ran with were diligent and hardworking, though there were the inevitable personality clashes (" Whatever you do, stay away from that guy,' Cheeto warns me. Dude's not well,' he writes of one loose cannon). Almost everyone had traveled a hard path through addiction, poverty, and alienation. For his part, the author harbored a deep well of doubt about whether he could pull off so formidable a challenge, especially when he fell down while nearing the Mexican border and resolved not to appear too injured so as to be allowed to continue. Running, he discovered, has a positive, spirit-affirming dimension that he, who had always associated running with running away from someone or something, had not known before, giving an immediate connection to the landand allowing him a part in a significant journey even as "the world that we had put on pause was beginning to move again."A thoughtful first book that should inspire others to lace up their running shoes and get moving. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

NOÉ ÁLVAREZ was born to Mexican immigrant parents and raised working-class in Yakima, Washington. He holds degrees in philosophy and creative writing from Whitman College and Emerson College, respectively. He studied conflict analysis, peacemaking, and conflict resolution at American University and in Northern Ireland, received a fellowship at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School, and researched U.S. drug policy, military aid, and human rights issues in Colombia's Putumayo jungles. He lives in Boston, where, until recently, he worked as a security officer at the Boston Athenæum.

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