Reflective, intimate, and rich in cultural insight.
Weeden’s quietly powerful novel follows a young runner navigating the intersection of modern life and ancestral tradition. Awena lives between two worlds—high school life and the fading traditions of her Native American heritage. When a mysterious word, túya, begins echoing through her mind during her runs in the Sierra foothills, her grandmother believes it is an ancestral call. But is Awena ready to follow the path her ancestors once walked?
Awena’s position between two cultural systems shapes the structure of the novel. She navigates the expectations of contemporary American adolescence—school, athletics, friendships—while carrying the inherited knowledge of her Miwok ancestry. Her participation on the cross-country team mirrors this tension. Running operates not simply as competition but as a space of reflection in which bodily movement and interior awareness coincide. The recurring rhythm of running parallels the recurrence of the ancestral voice, suggesting that identity develops through endurance and attention rather than sudden revelation.
At the same time, the narrative situates personal discovery within broader political realities. Awena’s father, a tribal lawyer, confronts the bureaucratic barriers surrounding federal recognition, exposing the historical consequences of broken treaties and lost land. Through this intersection of personal experience, cultural memory, and legal struggle, the novel examines how identity is negotiated across generations and institutions. Quietly thoughtful and rooted in landscape and tradition, the book makes for a meaningful exploration of Indigenous heritage, personal awakening, and the enduring relationship between people and the land.
Lovers of landscape-rich literary fiction and Indigenous storytelling will be drawn to Awena’s journey.
Pub date May 12, 2025
ISBN 979-8309759903
Print length 62 pages
Price $10.00 (USD) Paperback, $1.00 Kindle edition, $0.00 Kindle Unlimited