Description
A Michelle Obama Reach Higher Fall 2022 reading list pick A Library Journal “BEST BOOK OF 2022” “Aguons book is for everyone, but he challenges history by placing indigenous consciousness at the center of his project . . . the most tender polemic Ive ever read.” Lenika Cruz, The Atlantic “It’s clear [Aguon] poured his whole heart into this slim book . . . [his] sense of hope, fierce determination, and love for his people and culture permeates every page.” Laura Sackton, BookRiot Part memoir, part manifesto, Chamorro climate activist Julian Aguons No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies is a collection of essays on resistance, resilience, and collective power in the age of climate disaster; and a call for justicefor everyone, but in particular, for Indigenous peoples. In bracing poetry and compelling prose, Aguon weaves together stories from his childhood in the villages of Guam with searing political commentary about matters ranging from nuclear weapons to global warming. Undertaking the work of bearing witness, wrestling with the most pressing questions of the modern day, and reckoning with the challenge of truth-telling in an era of rampant obfuscation, he culls from his own life experiencesfrom losing his father to pancreatic cancer to working for Mother Teresa to an edifying chance encounter with Sherman Alexieto illuminate a collective path out of the darkness. A powerful, bold, new voice writing at the intersection of Indigenous rights and environmental justice, Julian Aguon is entrenched in the struggles of the people of the Pacific to liberate themselves from colonial rule, defend their sacred sites, and obtain justice for generations of harm. In No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies, Aguon shares his wisdom and reflections on love, grief, joy, and triumph and extends an offer to join him in a hard-earned hope for a better world.
