Joy Harjo was recently chosen as the United States Poet Laurent, the first Indigenous writer to be appointed to this position. I read a short news article on her a few weeks ago and decided to pick up some of her books, starting with this memoir. This book is divided into four sections (East, North, West, South) and covers her early life, from her ancestors, through her childhood and adolescence, into the mid 1970s around her time in university and the birth of her children. She would go on to be a major voice in the Native American Renaissance literary movement, but this book ends just as she is beginning to write poetry. It's a powerful and lyrical telling of a challenging youth. I am grateful to have her as a part of American history and future.