Becoming Story

Sarris gathers from gossip, myth, dreams and science to investigate the imperishable power of story itself and how it helps us locate and claim a sense of home. [...] In clean, thoughtful prose with jewellike detail - whether pondering Yosemite, his childhood babysitter, a secret cave or the oak tree outside his house - these meditations enchant. -Joan Frank, San Francisco Chronicle Greg Sarris's resonant memoir explores identities, heritages, and the legacies of places. [...] The book details California's troubled history of European conquest, Manifest Destiny, and the suppression and subversion of Indigenous ways of life. It laments that the state's mystical, resourceful Indigenous cultures were invaded by Spanish rancheros in the 1800s, after which California's environmental harmony began to suffer. [...] Testifying to the impacts of people on the land, the powerful memoir Becoming Story lauds the power of language when it comes to leaving tracks for others to follow. -Foreword Reviews A fascinating and evocative memoir in essays. -Kirkus, starred review In Sarris's latest work, Becoming Story, he invites us into an intimate and communal California Indian world. Part memoir, part history, part ethnography, the work has echoes of Momaday's The Way to Rainy Mountain. He shares, with refreshing honesty, his family roots-their depths and dislocations, as well as the their strong sinews that the forces of settler colonialism and American genocide could not sever. His narrative reminds us that the roots of our tribal identities remember and, ultimately, restore(y) us. -Theresa Gregor, Asst. Prof of American Indian Studies at Cal State University, Long Beach