Publisher's Weekly Review
In this motivating entry, poet Curtice (Glory Happening) encourages readers to fight against racism, patriarchy, and gender discrimination to make a more "whole" world, and to make doing so a lifelong commitment. To that end, she outlines four "realms" of resistance: personal (turning inward and asking questions); communal (making changes on a social level); ancestral (investigating one's roots and others'); and integral (resistance that involves all parts of the self). Each realm is defined broadly, leaving plenty of room for individualized practice. Personal resistance can entail creating art to bring alive "issues we may have overlooked before" in unique ways; while communal resistance might call for interfaith organizing. As well, Curtice draws on her identity as a member of the Potawatomi Nation to explore ancestral resistance and the need to learn about the "land you currently dwell on," including its "peoples... both past and present." Curtice delivers her wisdom compassionately without losing sight of her activist aims, and makes a persuasive case for the power of small, incremental actions to initiate powerful change. Readers will find abundant wisdom in this accessible guide. (Mar.)
Booklist Review
Curtice shares an expansive, generous vision for how to find meaning and make a place for ourselves in an often exhausting and hostile world. The author, a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, breaks the practice of resistance into four overlapping, mutually sustaining realms: the personal realm of internal reflection and self-care; the communal realm that honors our connections with and responsibilities toward one another; the ancestral realm, which helps us to see both our origins and our futures; and, at the center of them all, the integral realm, bringing together the work of the other three. Though deeply informed by both Christianity and Indigenous spiritual practices, the work Curtice describes is not confined to any one faith (or lack of faith). Rather, it teaches us to hold space for the divine in ourselves, our communities, and our shared history. If we want to change the world, we must have faith in ourselves, close bonds with the people in the fight with us, and a clear understanding of where we have come from and where we wish to go.
Library Journal Review
Curtice's (Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God) mantra of "I am a human being. I am always arriving," underlies a unique vision of resistance, one that is affirming, intensely personal, wrapped in community and history, and consistently developing. Curtice describes the intersectional realities of her life as an enrolled citizen of the Potawatomi Nation who grew up in an evangelical Christian environment. The book guides the reader through four reflective "realms of resistance"--personal, communal, ancestral, and integral--with chapters that flesh out what opposition to oppressive societal pressures can be. Curtice's story of her own arriving, of affirming and integrating larger aspects of her identity than she was originally given categories for, shows how the resistance to colonizing, racist, marginalizing narratives through bodies, words, and actions can be a journey toward spiritual wholeness. VERDICT A work of both spiritual direction and challenge toward social engagement, with welcoming, lambent prose. Curtice is a fresh and intelligent voice in the genre.--Zachariah Motts
