sefanya's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
5.0
Memoirs are hard to rate because assigning someone's life story a score seems wrong, but I gave this a 5 for a few reasons.
This book must have been hard to write. Aside from the act of writing and publishing a book, which in itself is no small feat, the author clearly spent a lot of time soul-searching, listening, reflecting, and working on this story.
Existing is hard as is, but the fact that they runners (who had all survived incredible hardships prior to the run) rejected despair and channeled their emotions into something bigger than themselves is commendable.
As if that wasn't enough, there were still physical, mental, social, and emotional aspects of the run that they had to deal with (in-fighting, physical assault, racism, dehydration, swollen knees, etc.). The things they accomplished were unfathomable to me, who would've quit on Day 1 (or never signed up at all). Their resilience was, for a lack of better word, inspiring.
I also found the philosophy behind the run and symbolism + explanation of the cultures fascinating. I loved learning about the author's historical and familial background, and what this run meant for them as an indigenous Mexican-American. Reclaiming one's roots, and then writing about it, is such an arduous journey. This book is truly eye-opening!
This book must have been hard to write. Aside from the act of writing and publishing a book, which in itself is no small feat, the author clearly spent a lot of time soul-searching, listening, reflecting, and working on this story.
Existing is hard as is, but the fact that they runners (who had all survived incredible hardships prior to the run) rejected despair and channeled their emotions into something bigger than themselves is commendable.
As if that wasn't enough, there were still physical, mental, social, and emotional aspects of the run that they had to deal with (in-fighting, physical assault, racism, dehydration, swollen knees, etc.). The things they accomplished were unfathomable to me, who would've quit on Day 1 (or never signed up at all). Their resilience was, for a lack of better word, inspiring.
I also found the philosophy behind the run and symbolism + explanation of the cultures fascinating. I loved learning about the author's historical and familial background, and what this run meant for them as an indigenous Mexican-American. Reclaiming one's roots, and then writing about it, is such an arduous journey. This book is truly eye-opening!
lindseygwilson's review against another edition
2.0
As a runner, I wanted to hear more about this incredible journey. As an American interested in learning more about the peoples native to this land I live in, I was hoping to gain
luckybybritneyspears's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
pamiverson's review against another edition
3.0
A young Mexican-American man from Yakima Valley drops out of school to go on an organized run from Alaska to southern Mexico. He reflects on his heritage, the interesting folks who were also part of this adventure (which is regularly repeated), and people he meets along the way. Interesting but not profound.
robdawgreads's review against another edition
5.0
Noé shares his experience participating in the Peace and Dignity Journey, a marathon that lasts for six months and goes through indigenous communities stretching from Alaska to Central America. This memoir/novel is so powerful and I am very thankful to have read it. Highly, highly recommend.