Scan barcode
A review by theshaggyshepherd
Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America's Stolen Land by Noé Álvarez
3.0
Spirit Run // by Noe Alvarez
This is a title that I have been looking forward to for a while but am now struggling to organize my thoughts about. The blurb had me excited about learning about immigration and the First Nations/Native American movement from a new angle, connecting with the land through running. The beginning of the book was very much like I expected: We learn about his experiences in the work force and about his family with a lot of focus on his parents. I learned a lot about the industry and inhumane practices, about the poverty that so many immigrants struggle with and the unfair treatment of them by the citizens of a country that would not exist were it not for the many immigrants of the past and the present.
But the deeper I got into the story, the more I struggled with it. I found myself taking a lot of breaks from it and dreading coming back to it. The group of runners was not what I expected at all, especially with the name Peace and Dignity Journey. I loved learning about their rituals and thoughts of connecting with the land, but peace and dignity seemed far from their reality within the group itself. I also started to miss the deep reflections that I enjoyed at the beginning of the book when he spoke about the issues in society and with immigration. I do appreciate how personal he got about describing the way hunger, thirst and pain drove everybody to their limits, but at numerous times, that suffering just felt unnecessary when looking at it from the outside; the consequences of petty and immature behavior sometimes.
This might be an issue about incorrect expectations, but I was honestly expecting a book that would be inspirational and maybe even show us a way forward, but instead it was mostly depressing and I never really felt a sense of closure. Alvarez told us about the multiple degrees he completed after finishing the run, but I did not really see the point of getting those and spending hard earned money on them since it seems like he did not actually use them to his advantage. I do hope we get to hear more from him in the future and see where this experience takes him.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is a title that I have been looking forward to for a while but am now struggling to organize my thoughts about. The blurb had me excited about learning about immigration and the First Nations/Native American movement from a new angle, connecting with the land through running. The beginning of the book was very much like I expected: We learn about his experiences in the work force and about his family with a lot of focus on his parents. I learned a lot about the industry and inhumane practices, about the poverty that so many immigrants struggle with and the unfair treatment of them by the citizens of a country that would not exist were it not for the many immigrants of the past and the present.
But the deeper I got into the story, the more I struggled with it. I found myself taking a lot of breaks from it and dreading coming back to it. The group of runners was not what I expected at all, especially with the name Peace and Dignity Journey. I loved learning about their rituals and thoughts of connecting with the land, but peace and dignity seemed far from their reality within the group itself. I also started to miss the deep reflections that I enjoyed at the beginning of the book when he spoke about the issues in society and with immigration. I do appreciate how personal he got about describing the way hunger, thirst and pain drove everybody to their limits, but at numerous times, that suffering just felt unnecessary when looking at it from the outside; the consequences of petty and immature behavior sometimes.
This might be an issue about incorrect expectations, but I was honestly expecting a book that would be inspirational and maybe even show us a way forward, but instead it was mostly depressing and I never really felt a sense of closure. Alvarez told us about the multiple degrees he completed after finishing the run, but I did not really see the point of getting those and spending hard earned money on them since it seems like he did not actually use them to his advantage. I do hope we get to hear more from him in the future and see where this experience takes him.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.