First published 2003
A basketball player stares at his reflection in a hotel mirror, wondering if success has made him a stranger to his own people. A lawyer questions her choices after a courtroom victory feels hollow. A father watches his daughter walk away and realizes he has failed her in ways he cannot name. These nine Native Americans live between worlds, caught between reservation life and mainstream America, between tradition and modernity, between who they were raised to be and who they have become. Each faces moments that force them to examine their deepest beliefs about family, community, and belonging. A woman returns home for a funeral and confronts old wounds. A man loses his job and discovers what truly matters. Their struggles reveal the complex reality of contemporary Native American life, where personal identity and cultural loyalty often pull in opposite directions. These characters must decide what they are willing to sacrifice and what they refuse to give up.
Genres: fiction, short-stories, contemporary, native-american
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Reservation, United States
Period: Contemporary
243 pages · Hardcover · Grove Press