Joy Harjo’s Crazy Brave is part history, part memoir, and part poetry. A recounting of a life from inside the soul that encompasses the way history impacts our lives at every turn.
Joy Harjo barely survived a rough childhood by running. Not running away, but finding a place where she was known. At an arts boarding high school she learned ways to express what her stepfather and life had told to be quiet and to bury. Turned on to the arts, her soul began to fly again. But even the sky has storms.
After high school Joy still struggled with the realities of being a woman of color with a history of abuse as strong as her history of culture and belonging. Once again, Joy was able to listen to herself deeply, and find a way to survive weight under which many would have crumbled.
Crazy Brave is a beautiful testament to a woman of tremendous strength and talent. You will find yourself rereading even the most difficult passages for the grace with which she writes and the hope found within the pain.
Interview with Joy Harjo
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