Description
Book SynopsisTerra Trevor (Cherokee, Lenape, Seneca, and German) sought healing and found belonging. After a difficult loss, Native women elders embraced and guided her over three decades, lifting her from grief and showing her how to age from youth into beauty.
Trade Review"Covering topics as diverse as race, religion, and the craft of writing,
We Who Walk the Seven Ways is a moving memoir about friendship and identity."—
Foreword Reviews"
We Who Walk the Seven Ways is a tender, deeply personal memoir written by a courageous and searingly honest woman."—Charlotte Hinger,
Roundup Magazine“Raised to conceal her Native ancestry, Terra Trevor learns from elders to nurture her mixed blood identity and shape her activism in transracial adoption, Indian health and education, and community building. This is an inspiring, heartfelt memoir of one Native woman’s spirit journey from childhood to her own elderhood.”—Robert Bensen, editor of
Children of the Dragonfly: Native American Voices on Child Custody and Education“This poignant memoir touches on the trials and tribulations of Terra Trevor, a mixed blood American Indian straddling two races. It’s a book you won’t be able to put down, written with simplicity, grace, and urgency, transcending any expectations. In spite of many obstacles, Trevor is a woman of unimaginable strength and courage. After not being heard as a child, she thankfully found her voice as a writer, and how lucky we are!”—Diana Raab, author of
Regina’s Closet and
Writing for Bliss“The book’s insights are fascinating, and there is a feeling of authenticity throughout. Terra Trevor confronts big (and often tragic) life events with humility and real wisdom. She not only describes how she makes her way through those events but does so in a very pragmatic way. Additionally, the work incorporates a powerful look at the intersections between gender, race, and culture. This is an important story, beautifully told and extremely relevant for these difficult times.”—Margaret Randall, author of
I Never Left Home: Poet, Feminist, Revolutionary"Terra Trevor's book is a gentle invitation to journey with her across decades, an invitation to notice with her as she seeks healing and finds belonging. There were phrases and sentences I underlined, places where I wept, passages that will remain with me as they drew me to insights I'd previously struggled to name. I closed the final pages and knew that in reading this book, I had been the recipient of a generous and much-needed gift. While I can certainly finish a book in a day, I chose to move slowly through this one, letting each idea, each paragraph, each reflection gently spill over me, allowing the pages to alter me in some way."—Patrice Gopo, author of
Autumn Song: Essays on AbsenceTable of Contents Author’s Note
1. We Who Walk the Seven Ways
2. Marie
3. Ann
4. Irene
5. Mary Lou
6. Back in Those Days
7. Returning the Gift
8. The Seven Ways
9. The Way of This Daughter
10. Undocumented
11. Growing Up
12. Luke
13. Gary
14. Leaping into Womanhood
15. The Way of This Mother
16. Luke and New Mexico on My Mind
17. After the First Silent Week
18. Just Writing
19. Winter of Hope
20. The Red Ribbon Bridge
21. The Winter the Stars Fell
22. Words Facing West
23. My Years at the Shelter
24. The Winter It Came Back
25. With Nothing Ahead but Sky
26. Somewhere Southwest of the Middle
27. Coming Back to the World
28. Pushing Up the Sky
29. Growing Old in a Beautiful Way
30. Water Chores and Rituals
31. The Landscape Will Teach You Who You Are
32. Safekeeping
33. Reading, Living, and My Books
34. The Winter My Grandfather Apologized
35. River in the Blood
36. Back in Those Days in Oklahoma
37. My Mother
38. Ann, Wilma, Joy, and Me
39. My Relationship with Honesty
40. Searching for a Place to Stand
41. On the Way Home
42. The Indigenous Way of Comprehending
43. On the Medicine Trail
44. Tangled Thoughts
45. Winter Count
46. Forty-Five Winters
47. Dancing to Remember
48. Tomol Evening
49. Returning the Gift to the Sea
50. Gratitude
51. November
52. The Harvest Dinner
53. Winter of Distance
Acknowledgments
