A Mind Spread Out on the Ground

"Life-changing perspectives on Native American history, poverty, abuse, and mental illness that somehow remains optimistic."

"I read the first half of this all the way back in June and didn't decide to pick up the second half until today. Not because it's bad but because it's an essay collection/memoir which means there are plenty of good points to stop and no tension about learning how a plot will wrap up. Anything that isn't a fictional story and specifically genre fiction has always been a bit of a chore for me. That being said this is good and I did it a disservice by listening to it at 2.5x speed because I feel that I didn't give myself the chance to think about what she was saying as deeply as I usually try to. Because of that and the fact that I read the first part in June, I'm left with a feeling of incomplete thoughts and of not witnessing the full picture as the author meant for it to be witnessed. But it's not just that. I think the main itch I'm having about trying to review this is really due to my inexperience with memoirs in general: what is the purpose of a memoir and by what standards should I be judging it by? Is the goal to now be invested in her life and the characters within it (because I am but that seems uncomfortable)? Is it to be educated about indigenous issues? Because I have been but also there are also certain things I probably could have learned with more depth from other sources. But I think that's ok because the purpose of this is not to be an educational document about indigenous issues. It's just about this woman's life and all the experiences she's lived that she connects and applies to broader commentary on those issues. So while this is very good and I liked it quite a bit and even recommend it, I have no idea how to judge it. Like is your trauma and personality providing me with value? (for the record it did though, her experiences are very interesting and her thoughts are worth more time than I even gave them). Wait. In writing this I think I just stated the purpose (connecting and applying unexplored experiences to broader social commentary) and realized that she accomplished it well with broadly well-chosen and well-placed connections and anecdotes and her experience made me think of things I never have before. I should go back and write a proper review that starts with this framework but it's 1:30 am and I work tomorrow morning so too bad."

"This is a series of autobiographical essays about dehumanization and the intersections of misogyny, poverty, mental illness and racism in the US and Canada. I really enjoyed the way the author would pull in disparate elements (the history of dark matter, a Susan Sontag essay about photography) to illustrate wider points, and most of the essays were beautiful."

"Thought provoking and in some parts relatable for marginalized people. "