A memoir of family and survival, coming-of-age on and off the reservation, and of the frictions between mainstream American culture and Native inheritance.
In its mesmerizing dive into tumultuous childhood stories and its excavation of a particular place and time, Whiskey Tender recalls Mary Karr’s now-classic memoir The Liars' Club. What sets Taffa's memoir apart is its study of the political, racial and ancestral forces that shape a life.
A poignant and harrowing account ... What makes Taffa’s version exceptional is her visceral prose and sharp attunement to the tragedies of assimilation.
