A review by natsafan18
Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land, by Toni Jensen
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
4.0
In her memoir of survival on stolen land, Toni Jensen discusses instances throughout her life revolving the themes of violence, hopefulness, and emotional vulnerability. She touches on these themes to tell her own story as well as the history of stolen land from her people and her culture. It is a very powerful novel that "reminds us that surviving in one's country is not the same as surviving one's country."
I feel like I don't even have the words to even describe this book, but I will try my best to do so. I will start out with saying that this book is deeply personal, so I give huge props to Jensen for writing such a personal arc of her story. With that being said, some of the themes that she touches on are very hard to read, and I had to stop reading at some points in order to deal with the emotions that I was feeling in those moments. It deals a lot with gun violence, violence against women (specifically Indigenous women), sexual assault, physical assault, fear of violence, and harsh language throughout - so if any of that is/seems triggering to some readers, I'd advise not reading this memoir.
With saying that though, I do feel like I gained a lot of respect while reading this novel. As I mentioned prior, I give huge props to Jensen for writing something that must've been hard to write and remember. But, this was just a hard one for me to get through. Yet, it gave this sense of hopefulness throughout it as well, that made me want to continue on through it. I'm very grateful that I was able to read this memoir and I hope to read more like it in the future.
I feel like I don't even have the words to even describe this book, but I will try my best to do so. I will start out with saying that this book is deeply personal, so I give huge props to Jensen for writing such a personal arc of her story. With that being said, some of the themes that she touches on are very hard to read, and I had to stop reading at some points in order to deal with the emotions that I was feeling in those moments. It deals a lot with gun violence, violence against women (specifically Indigenous women), sexual assault, physical assault, fear of violence, and harsh language throughout - so if any of that is/seems triggering to some readers, I'd advise not reading this memoir.
With saying that though, I do feel like I gained a lot of respect while reading this novel. As I mentioned prior, I give huge props to Jensen for writing something that must've been hard to write and remember. But, this was just a hard one for me to get through. Yet, it gave this sense of hopefulness throughout it as well, that made me want to continue on through it. I'm very grateful that I was able to read this memoir and I hope to read more like it in the future.