A wonderful example of Cherokee literature

This novel follows the lives of three generations of Cherokee women that are seeking their own identities as Cherokee tribal members, women, mothers, and urban Indians living in a contemporary setting. As the story unfolds, we see patterns of motherhood and how children are effected by those that mother them --alongside the tough choices that mothers must make.

Some of the mothers within this text are abject, and make deplorable decisions that put their children in danger. Other mothers, or stand-in mothers, are wonderful women that take mothering very seriously and will protect children that are not even their own. This is a gorgeous story about one woman's journey to forgive her mother for the wrongs that she has committed against her--but will she forgive her mother, or is their bond shattered forever?

I used this book in my Master's Thesis, so I'm clearly biased towards it and am in love with it. But I highly recommend this novel!