I am, and always have been, stimulated by a spiritual connection to my world beyond the laws of physics and men. My hiking, climbing, and trail running have taken me to breathless places imbued with auras and presences I don’t understand but readily accept. And I am filled with the same spirituality when performing or listening to music. I have no ego to shun that which I don’t understand, for I know there is so much beyond me. Some authors describe this intangible better than others in their stories; I hope I am among the former.
R. Allen Chappell’s novel resonates with me from the reality of his depiction of life among the Navajo, reflecting his personal familiarity with the people. His protagonists portray diverse, very human characters with all their inherent weaknesses and strengths, tested by the hard life on the Rez. In Magpie Speaks, Charlie Yazzie’s unflappably grounded outlook balances Paul T’Sosi ’s immersive belief in the old ways, a traditional way of thinking that permits the existence of witches who can cause him harm with their supernatural powers. His depiction of Harley Ponyboy, a sometime drunk (“just because I’m drinking now doesn’t make me a drunk”) is both sympathetic and alarming to me. Chappell’s characters are real.
Dreams tell old man Paul T’Sosi he’s dying. So why is Navajo trickster, Magpie, trying to tell him a far more terrifying secret? Hungry for revenge, Ma’iitsoh Dine’, the Navajo Wolf, is out for blood. Summoning his darkest powers, the Witch of Ganado circles tribal investigator Charlie Yazzie’s young son. Some may survive the witch’s evil vendetta, but others will die to settle an old score. The unexpected happens when a woman from the past re-emerges to take control in this fast paced thriller critics now hail as the best yet of Chappell’s sensational new southwestern mystery series.
I have long been intrigued by the concept of shapeshifters, particularly the Navajo Skinwalker, a practitioner of spiritual arts who can learn to transform into another species while in pursuit of a particular end. I am not alone, judging from all the ancient legends around the globe. Even today, depictions of shapeshifters are found in literature and on film in many guises. Tony Hillerman takes a deep dive into Navajo lore in this early novel with a close encounter with a suspected “yee naaldlooshii”. Feel the hair rise on your neck!
Don’t Miss the AMC television series, Dark Winds, based on the Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito novels, coming this summer!
From New York Times bestselling author Tony Hillerman, Skinwalkers is the seventh novel featuring Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee—a riveting tale of sorcery, secrets, and murder.
Three shotgun blasts rip through the side of Officer Jim Chee’s trailer as the Navajo Tribal Policeman sleeps. He survives, but the inexplicable attack has raised disturbing questions about a lawman once beyond reproach.
Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn wonders why Chee was a target and what connection the assault has to a series of…
In this novel, L’Amour explores the ancient spirituality of Native Americans in a tangential way while adhering to his tried and true formula of adventure, lovely women in distress, and brave young heroes. Finding his mother in despair following the death of his father, and with financial loss looming, Sean and his mother pursue a rumor of treasure buried deep in the mountains beyond his Malibu home. L’Amour paints the mystic “Old Ones” into his story with a movement of bushes here, and a mysterious wind-borne cry there, all within an ambiance of dusky, trembling stillness. Masterful!
Captain Sean Mulkerin comes home from the sea to find his family home in jeopardy. After the death of his father, Sean’s determined mother, Eileen, took it upon herself to run the sprawling Rancho Malibu—until a fire destroyed her hard-earned profits. Now, on the edge of financial ruin, Eileen hopes Sean can help them find a way out. The rumor is that her late husband found gold in the wild and haunted California hills, but the only clue to its whereabouts lies with an ancient, enigmatic Indian.
When Sean and Eileen set forth to retrace his father’s footsteps, they know…
Louise Erdrich creates an aura of spiritual powers within the sacred space that is the Round House, place of worship for the Ojibwe. Here, thirteen-year-old Joe finds the courage, wisdom, and strength to set out on a path to seek justice for his mother and redemption for himself. The story is a quest for understanding within the traumatic lives and feeling of hopelessness that surround the boy and his people, the focus is a mystery he is driven to solve. Louise’s writing establishes a sense of mysticism and deep timelessness that emanates from the Round House and wisps throughout the novel. It is a sad/joyful mixture almost too difficult to endure.
Winner of the National Book Award • Washington Post Best Book of the Year • A New York Times Notable Book
From one of the most revered novelists of our time, an exquisitely told story of a boy on the cusp of manhood who seeks justice and understanding in the wake of a terrible crime that upends and forever transforms his family.
One Sunday in the spring of 1988, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface because Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal…
Here is a great classic taking us back in time to southern Utah and the early ranches and Mormon settlements. I love Grey’s perspective on the history of this region. Here, horses are king, and those that ride them are their worshippers. Hero Lassiter falls in love with the lovely, independent ranch owner, Jane Withersteen, who is being stalked by wife-hunting Mormons. But the most compelling part for me is Vetner’s (a second male protagonist) discovery of the hidden redoubt he names Surprise Valley, a forgotten home of ancient cliff dwellers, and described by Grey with all the amygdala-rousing prose at his command. An aura of the supernatural is permanently suspended over this hidden place, and it becomes the centerpiece of the remainder of the novel. That is the stuff I enjoy.
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
They are an unlikely investigative team—an eastern, white FBI agent and a half-breed Navajo Hunting Guide. Agent Zack Tolliver somehow manages to survive his first year in Navajo Nation, a place too hot, too harsh, and too hostile for most of his colleagues. When a young girl’s ravaged body is found dumped on a desolate butte, surrounded by bear tracks, tracks that eventually turn into those of a man, Zack will need all the skill and cultural insights offered by his friend, mentor, and colleague Eagle Feather to solve the case. When the impossible is all that remains, it is all that is possible.
I’m an OB/GYN, passionate about adventuring beyond what’s expected. This has led me to pivot multiple times in my career, now focusing on writing. I’ve written a play, The Post-Roe Monologues, to elevate women’s stories. I cherish the curiosity that drives outer and inner exploration, and I love memoirs that skillfully weave the two. The books on this list feature extraordinary women who took risks, left comfort and safety, and battled vulnerability to step into the unknown. These authors moved beyond the stories they’d believed about themselves–or that others told about them. They invite you to think about living fuller and bigger lives.
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
The team attempts a new route up the East Face without the use of supplemental oxygen, Sherpa support, or chance for rescue. When three climbers disappear during their summit attempt, Zieman reaches the knife edge of her limits and digs deeply to fight for the climbers’ lives and to find her voice.
The plan was outrageous: A small team of four climbers would attempt a new route on the East Face of Mt. Everest, considered the most remote and dangerous side of the mountain, which had only been successfully climbed once before. Unlike the first large team, Mimi Zieman and her team would climb without using supplemental oxygen or porter support. While the unpredictable weather and high altitude of 29,035 feet make climbing Everest perilous in any condition, attempting a new route, with no idea of what obstacles lay ahead, was especially audacious. Team members were expected to push themselves to their…
