Stellar Reviews and Praise for The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving continues to flow. Thank you! Here is what the readers are saying:
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“The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving deserves a special place among the resources available to teachers and students trying to learn what makes Thanksgiving a contested holiday”. - Peter d’Errico, University of Massachusetts Law professor and attorney on Indigenous Studies. Read More here : Indian Country Today Magazine.
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“The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving deserves a special place among the resources available to teachers and students trying to learn what makes Thanksgiving a contested holiday”. - Peter d’Errico, University of Massachusetts Law professor and attorney on Indigenous Studies. Read More here : Indian Country Today Magazine.
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"No Thanks or Thanksgiving?" Interview with award winning artist Dawn Karima
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I picked up this book on my kindle knowing that Larry Spotted Crow Mann was coming to Iceland to introduce the book and his culture to us here in the North Atlantic. My knowledge of Native American culture was sadly based on bad information from Hollywood. As the book describes the culture is so rich, diverse and ancient, giving us all a chance to connect again to a way of nature and spirituality. The brilliance of the book is that it takes historical events and places them in a story we can all relate to. It gives the reader a chance to glimpse the lives of people who have been wronged for so long and how the characters of the story deal with that. Sometimes in joy and laughter and sometimes in anger and desperation. The beauty of this book is that it offers a solution, a way out through compassion that brought tears to my eyes. A true indicator when truth is being expressed. Jón Tryggvi Unnarsson ~ Singer/songwriter; Eyrarbakki, Iceland
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The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving gave me not only a glimpse and more understanding of a day of contrast between celebration and mourning, but also an experience of how important it is to have different people around you, of how they can affect you, but most importantly how you can affect them, through peace with yourself.~ Minik Hansen, Katuaq Cultural Center Coordinator; Nuuk Greenland
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I just finished reading The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving and wanted to tell you Larry what a great and moving story you have written! Your book should be required reading for every high school student. I try to read a lot in my spare time and yours in one of the most memorable stories I’ve read. You have done such a great thing for the Nipmuc people and all others living in the Nipmuc territory and beyond. Thank you for this work – I know this was not an easy story for you to write.” – Robert O’ Conner, Massachusetts Director of Land and Forest Conservation
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Hi Larry Spotted Crow Mann. Since being in college I feel as though I haven't been able to read books of my choosing due to my busy schedule. But this Summer I actually made myself read at least one book. After three years of not reading, your book has made me reconnect with why I love to read. The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving is one of the best books I've read ever. I couldn't put it down. It made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me happy. I really connected with Neempau. Overall your book was AMAZING!!!! I haven't heard much about Indigenous Americans, so I'm glad I read this book to further my knowledge of the culture. I have recommended the book to many of my friends. And, I'm definitely going to talk about this book to my group of Artists of Color Union. I appreciate you taking the time to create such a wonderful story! -Trinere Rodriguez, President of Artists of Color Union (ACU)
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The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving is contributing to an impressive body of Native American literature that stretches back to the 18th century. This novel is particularly important because it is portraying the complex and multi-faceted lives of contemporary Native Americans.- Lisa Brooks, Professor Native American Studies Amherst College
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I finished reading The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving a few weeks ago. The book did everything a good story is supposed to do. It made me stop reading at various moments to challenge my ideas and knowledge base, reflect, wonder, cry, and laugh… I thought about the characters even when I wasn’t actively engrossed in the text. I imagined the main character, Neempau, as a boy in that horrendous classroom. I also became annoyed with Neempau at times -- because he was so well-developed as a character by his creator, Larry Spotted Crow Mann, I found myself scolding or encouraging the character as if he was in the room with me… warning him to go check on his cousin, or to look more carefully at the heart of his brother in law .
My first thought when I finished the story was how necessary and important this story is on so many levels for so many people. As a reading specialist, I have seen more and more great books in schools that tell the stories of history from the indigenous perspective -- written by Native Americans.. Yet, there are not as many books where young people can read about a character who is not only Native American but who is living in today’s society and sharing his perspective on life -- not just in historical terms but in everyday living. As a teacher I can only speak on how this book can remind readers (or, in some sad cases) inform for the first time, that Native peoples are very much here and have very important stories to share. It is time for students in our schools (and people old and young in our society) to have these stories as a regular part of our learning, living, and engaging in our humanity. This book is excellent. I want it in the hands of every teenager. We have needed this story in print for a very long time. Thank you for writing it, Mr. Spotted Crow Mann. Karen Smith , Literacy Specialist David Mindess School, Ashland, MA.
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This book should be read by the entire school system in the nation. Larry Spotted Crow Mann gives a history lesson along with a great thought provoking story. -John Kelley, History Buff
I picked up this book on my kindle knowing that Larry Spotted Crow Mann was coming to Iceland to introduce the book and his culture to us here in the North Atlantic. My knowledge of Native American culture was sadly based on bad information from Hollywood. As the book describes the culture is so rich, diverse and ancient, giving us all a chance to connect again to a way of nature and spirituality. The brilliance of the book is that it takes historical events and places them in a story we can all relate to. It gives the reader a chance to glimpse the lives of people who have been wronged for so long and how the characters of the story deal with that. Sometimes in joy and laughter and sometimes in anger and desperation. The beauty of this book is that it offers a solution, a way out through compassion that brought tears to my eyes. A true indicator when truth is being expressed. Jón Tryggvi Unnarsson ~ Singer/songwriter; Eyrarbakki, Iceland
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The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving gave me not only a glimpse and more understanding of a day of contrast between celebration and mourning, but also an experience of how important it is to have different people around you, of how they can affect you, but most importantly how you can affect them, through peace with yourself.~ Minik Hansen, Katuaq Cultural Center Coordinator; Nuuk Greenland
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I just finished reading The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving and wanted to tell you Larry what a great and moving story you have written! Your book should be required reading for every high school student. I try to read a lot in my spare time and yours in one of the most memorable stories I’ve read. You have done such a great thing for the Nipmuc people and all others living in the Nipmuc territory and beyond. Thank you for this work – I know this was not an easy story for you to write.” – Robert O’ Conner, Massachusetts Director of Land and Forest Conservation
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Hi Larry Spotted Crow Mann. Since being in college I feel as though I haven't been able to read books of my choosing due to my busy schedule. But this Summer I actually made myself read at least one book. After three years of not reading, your book has made me reconnect with why I love to read. The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving is one of the best books I've read ever. I couldn't put it down. It made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me happy. I really connected with Neempau. Overall your book was AMAZING!!!! I haven't heard much about Indigenous Americans, so I'm glad I read this book to further my knowledge of the culture. I have recommended the book to many of my friends. And, I'm definitely going to talk about this book to my group of Artists of Color Union. I appreciate you taking the time to create such a wonderful story! -Trinere Rodriguez, President of Artists of Color Union (ACU)
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The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving is contributing to an impressive body of Native American literature that stretches back to the 18th century. This novel is particularly important because it is portraying the complex and multi-faceted lives of contemporary Native Americans.- Lisa Brooks, Professor Native American Studies Amherst College
*
I finished reading The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving a few weeks ago. The book did everything a good story is supposed to do. It made me stop reading at various moments to challenge my ideas and knowledge base, reflect, wonder, cry, and laugh… I thought about the characters even when I wasn’t actively engrossed in the text. I imagined the main character, Neempau, as a boy in that horrendous classroom. I also became annoyed with Neempau at times -- because he was so well-developed as a character by his creator, Larry Spotted Crow Mann, I found myself scolding or encouraging the character as if he was in the room with me… warning him to go check on his cousin, or to look more carefully at the heart of his brother in law .
My first thought when I finished the story was how necessary and important this story is on so many levels for so many people. As a reading specialist, I have seen more and more great books in schools that tell the stories of history from the indigenous perspective -- written by Native Americans.. Yet, there are not as many books where young people can read about a character who is not only Native American but who is living in today’s society and sharing his perspective on life -- not just in historical terms but in everyday living. As a teacher I can only speak on how this book can remind readers (or, in some sad cases) inform for the first time, that Native peoples are very much here and have very important stories to share. It is time for students in our schools (and people old and young in our society) to have these stories as a regular part of our learning, living, and engaging in our humanity. This book is excellent. I want it in the hands of every teenager. We have needed this story in print for a very long time. Thank you for writing it, Mr. Spotted Crow Mann. Karen Smith , Literacy Specialist David Mindess School, Ashland, MA.
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This book should be read by the entire school system in the nation. Larry Spotted Crow Mann gives a history lesson along with a great thought provoking story. -John Kelley, History Buff
