Becoming Story

A Journey among Seasons, Places, Trees, and Ancestors

Becoming Story
Greg Sarris
RRP:
NZ$ 54.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 43.99
Hardback
h177 x 127mm - 224pg
19 May 2022 US
International import eta 7-19 days
9781597145671
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
A gently powerful memoir about deepening your relationship with your homeland For the first time in more than twenty-five years, Greg Sarris-whose novels are esteemed alongside those of Louise Erdrich and Stephen Graham Jones-presents a book about his own life. In Becoming Story he asks: What does it mean to be truly connected to the place you call home-to walk where innumerable generations of your ancestors have walked? And what does it mean when you dedicate your life to making that connection even deeper? Moving between his childhood and the present day, Sarris creates a kaleidoscopic narrative about the forces that shaped his early years and his eventual work as a tribal leader. He considers the deep past, historical traumas, and possible futures of his homeland. His acclaimed storytelling skills are in top form here, and he charts his journey in prose that is humorous, searching, and profound. A gently powerful memoir, Becoming Story is also a master class in the art of belonging to the place where you live.
"Greg Sarris' s resonant memoir explores identities, heritages, and the legacies of places. [. . . ] The book details California' s troubled history of European conquest, Manifest Destiny, and the suppression and subversion of Indigenous ways of life. It laments that the state' s mystical, resourceful Indigenous cultures were invaded by Spanish rancheros in the 1800s, after which California' s environmental harmony began to suffer. [. . . ] Testifying to the impacts of people on the land, the powerful memoir Becoming Story lauds the power of language when it comes to leaving tracks for others to follow. " -ForewordReviews "A fascinating and evocative memoir in essays. " -Kirkus, starred review "In Sarris' s latest work, Becoming Story, he invites us into an intimate and communal California Indian world. Part memoir, part history, part ethnography, the work has echoes of Momaday' s The Way to Rainy Mountain. He shares, with refreshing honesty, his family roots-their depths and dislocations, as well as the their strong sinews that the forces of settler colonialism and American genocide could not sever. His narrative reminds us that the roots of our tribal identities "remember" and, ultimately, restore(y) us. "-Theresa Gregor, Asst. Prof of American Indian Studies at Cal State University, Long Beach
Greg Sarris is currently serving his fifteenth term as Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. He holds the Graton Rancheria Endowed Chair in Creative Writing and Native American Studies at Sonoma State University, and his publications include Keeping Slug Woman Alive (1993), Grand Avenue (1994, reissued 2015), Watermelon Nights (1999, reissued 2021), and How a Mountain Was Made (2017, published by Heyday). Greg lives and works in Sonoma County, California. Visit his website at greg-sarris. com.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9781597145671
Published: 19 May 2022
Published In: United States
Imprint: Heyday Books
Publisher: Heyday Books
Format: Hardback
Height: 177mm
Width: 127mm
Pages: 224

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