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As a trauma surgeon, his life is very much grounded in the here and now. But his "here and now" has started to include hearing drums beating in the hospital when no one else does. A ceremonial mark from years past has changed from unsightly scar tissue to an elegant elk. A ghostly wolf shows itself to him in the hospital. A chant that changes from one for healing to another sung at the Women's Dance. Thus begins his journey of rediscovering not just his heritage, but of himself.
A trauma patient helps him to reconnect with his grandfather's teachings when he sees no alternative but to perform a Medicine Sing for her. Later, she is the catalyst to his going back into the past to a time that pre-dates white settlers coming to America. There he finds other such time travelers from more than one Nation, each bearing witness to what will come as it happened in their own past. They each want to find a way to give their people a chance for a better future than the one the history books tell of.
This story tells of his struggles to accept his heritage again, to believe in the things his grandfather taught, and put the welfare of a people ahead of the welfare of one person. Whether or not he succeeds is the rest of the story.
Howen weaves a tale of what if... What if a person (or more than one person) could travel back and forth in time and find a way to give the native peoples of America a fighting chance? What if there were a way to save lives that would have otherwise been decimated through trickery and underhanded dealings.
History is written by the victor and the victor is seldom kind to the loser. The Law of Eminent Domain ruled the West when our country was young and in its formative years. The power of might and strength of numbers bought us the land we live in at a price that (in my opinion) should not have been paid.
Through Running Deer's visions, Howen gives us a look at the other half of the story. Yet she does so with integrity. There is no "pity us" in her tale. There is strength and pride. Howen weaves an eloquent tale of possibilities. Her storytelling is smooth and captivating. Her characters are very believable because they aren't perfect. Shannon Running Deer struggles with his beliefs and whether or not to believe what is happening to him is real. Morning Dove struggles to find the one she is meant to be with, and Kills Many has all the faults of an arrogant man who can't admit he might be wrong.
At the beginning of the book, Howen states in her author's note that "Resemblances to places, traditions and practices by any of the American Indian tribes mentioned in the book is intentional, and purposely fictionalized and mixed together, to protect the sanctity of those spiritual ceremonies."
This statement on the part of the author spoke more to me of her integrity and moral compass as an author than any statements I've read by any other author. As a non-Native American, I couldn't tell where she made these adjustments in her story. While many religions have an "open door" policy to the entirety of their practices, not all of them do. To give that level of respect to a culture's religious beliefs is an author I want on my shelves (or Nook). The tale was seamless and evocative of a people given foreknowledge of their future if they can't find a way to change it. Nothing felt like it had been clipped, removed, changed or otherwise altered. Well written, well edited, great character development. A joy to read. I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 5 stars
This book is available from:
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
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Barnes & Noble
Thank you for the great review, I am glad you enjoyed the book.
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