Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day

by Kaitlin B. Curtice

In an era in which "resistance" has become tokenized, popular Indigenous author Kaitlin Curtice reclaims it as a basic human calling. Resistance is for every human who longs to see their neighbors' holistic flourishing. We each have a role to play in the world right where we are, and our everyday acts of resistance hold us all together.

Curtice shows that we can learn to practice embodied ways of belonging and connection to ourselves and one another through everyday practices, such as getting more in touch with our bodies, resting, and remembering our ancestors. She explores four "realms of resistance"--the personal, the communal, the ancestral, and the integral--and shows how these realms overlap and why all are needed for our liberation. Readers will be empowered to seek wholeness in whatever spheres of influence they inhabit.

Genres: Nonfiction, Indigenous, Spirituality, Social Justice, Self Help, Audiobook, Native American

6 pages, Audible Audio

Published March 7, 2023

About the author

Kaitlin Curtice is a Native American Christian author, speaker and worship leader. As an enrolled member of the Potawatomi Citizen Band and someone who has grown up in the Christian faith, Kaitlin writes on the intersection of Native American spirituality, mystic faith in everyday life, and the church. She is an author with Paraclete Press and her recently released book is Glory Happening: Finding the Divine in Everyday Places. She is a contributor to Sojourners, and you can also find her work on Patheos Progressive Christian.

Reviews

[Richard Propes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sat down with Kaitlin B. Curtice's "Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day" about a week after having been diagnosed with bladder cancer, the latest in a long line of significant health issues that began when I was born with spina bifida over fifty years ago.

This is my second experience with Curtice after "Native," a book that informed, educated, inspired, and challenged me in a myriad of ways. I must admit that I initially found Curtice intimidating, a combination of her undeniable intellect and her passionate exploration of the intersection between Indigenous spirituality, everyday faith, and the living out of church life.

I was changed by "Native," deeply so, and with "Living Resistance" I have found a literary companion to the life I live as an activist, a friend, a neighbor, and a person living with disabilities who sometimes feels as if I am living in this world as an "other."

I was almost immediately struck by the emotional resonance that radiates throughout "Living Resistance," a soulful transparency that brings Curtice's words to life in a glorious way. While Curtice's relentless intellect remains vividly at the forefront of her writing, "Living Resistance" also brings to life Curtice's charismatic presence as a poet, storyteller, and speaker.

There's a quote on Curtice's website from Barbara Brown Taylor - "Kaitlin Curtice is one of the braver writers I know. She won’t smooth any edges for you and she won’t let you change the subject, but she’ll support you digging as deeply for your roots as she has for hers.”

Indeed, I must confess that I was initially intimidated by Curtice precisely because she doesn't smooth the edges or lower her expectations. I have seen this very truth come to life while following her on social media and in my own limited encounters with her. Even as Curtice's writing in "Native" convicted me, something I acknowledged in my review of the book, I surrendered as my sense of intimidation transformed into a deep respect for this author who feels like a wise elder (acknowledging, of course, that I am in fact the elder here!).

As I began reading "Living Resistance," I began to realize that the universe had, once again, placed in my hands the perfect book at the perfect time in my life. While I had been convicted in "Native" regarding my far too #Hashtag filled approach to my own Indigenous ancestry (my family has strong connections to the Choctaw nation), as I approached "Living Resistance" it became apparent that this would immerse me in my life within the disabled community into which I was born and which has defined my very roots.

I have often proclaimed, admittedly with more than a little anger, that the prevalent ableism in healthcare has disabled me far more than my paraplegic, double amputee body. This ableism is prevalent throughout society and, yes, is also displayed more internally than I like to admit. "Living Resistance" imagines a world where we learn to practice embodied ways of belonging to ourselves and one another through everyday practices. Curtice explores four "realms of resistance" - the personal, the communal, the ancestral, and the integral - and shows how these four realms overlap and why these four realms are needed for our liberation.

I will confess that I cried more than once during "Living Resistance," initially at this idea of "belonging" to ourselves as I realized that my first challenge in now living with cancer is to learn what it means to love my body in this way. It is not easy, but it is essential.

As is always true with Curtice, readers are empowered to seek this wholeness of which she writes and by the end of "Living Resistance" will feel motivated to and better equipped for the journey. "Living Resistance" is not a prescriptive book, however, but rather a book of visioning and surrendering to the possibilities.

For Curtice, "Resistance" is a basic human calling and is for everyone who longs for a world where everyone is provided the opportunity for holistic flourishing. In my own life, this has been lived out at times in various grassroots ways like my 6,000 miles on the Tenderness Tour and now in my professional position as the first person with a disability to be the Director of Provider Relations for the state agency serving individuals with disabilities. "Living Resistance" offers a road map with twists and turns, peaks and valleys on the journey toward a more equitable world with love and justice, hope and mutuality at its center.

In the disability community, those of us of a more progressive nature often challenge those who say we "inspire" them by responding "What do I inspire you to do?" Inspiration is not inspiration unless it is followed by action. Indeed, I can easily see Curtice saying the same thing "Save the platitudes. What are you inspired to do?" By the end of "Living Resistance," I felt better equipped as an activist, a friend, and a neighbor to care for myself, for others, and for the world around me in increasingly tangible ways.

And yet, perhaps most of all at this time in my life, I also felt myself ready to love myself with cancer and to share this journey as transparently as possible in a way that speaks to the holiness of this journey and the worth of my body for healing, wholeness, and to give and receive love.

With remarkable openness and profound insight, Kaitlin B. Curtice's Living Resistance" is a bold, compassionate vision for a better world for everyone.

[Rachel Marie Kang · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a woman of Native descent, there were some really sacred whisperings in this book that I deeply needed to hear. Resistance isn’t all fire and rage and fight. The way forward can be gentle, generous, and generative. And that is especially relevant as it relates to the personal experiences of many Indigenous peoples today. Kaitlin is a canary in the coal mine. Her voice tenderly weaves together poetry and practice, gifting readers with presence and welcoming all to walk toward a better way.

[Saivani · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading for everyone! This is just what I needed and is for you if you’re looking to further work on your relationship to yourself, each other, non human kin and the land. I listened to the audiobook but will definitely be purchasing and rereading to make notes and look into the other authors and teachings mentioned.

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I'm the audience for this, I think it might be more for people alienated from Christianity or grappling with it. For me, this book was filled with quotes from really great books and ideas from amazing traditions, but I didn't find anything new here or really any wisdom of any sort. It's all repackaged from other thinkers, writers, traditions and I agreed with these ideas and liked what was being said, but I didn't think it was new or innovative. That's great for those who need that kind of introduction, but for me it was nothing new and not only that didn't really add anything to the conversation. I also couldn't stomach the part about the peloton being some kind of sacred practice (what? no) and in some ways it felt out of touch in the way social justice coming out of a rural Vermont farm can feel out of touch...

[Jess d'Artagnan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not great for me. I'm kind of steeped in reading materials on the topic of resistance and decolonization and this summarized some good sources but didn't add anything new to the conversation. The self-helpy parts were done better by other writers (Ijeoma Oluo comes to mind immediately). When a work like this cites Merriam Webster dictionary to define a complex idea, I'm out. It feels like an undergraduate essay at that point. My advice would be to look at this book's references list and read those books instead.

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The timeline of your life is not a straight line, after all; it is a series of ebbs and flows, backs and forths, heres and theres. You are nowhere and everywhere all at once, and that means that most of the time, the best you can do is be present to the moment, be open to the unlearning and the learning, and trust that you’re doing the work of Love."

A self-help book that doesn't feel like a self-help book, but a whole-help book, if that makes sense.

Curtice talks a lot about coming to terms with her own identities, and moving through the world as an Indigenous woman and ex-evangelical. While a lot of what she describes is pretty basic in terms of decolonialism and community growing, it is a nice read.

What does resistance look like? What can it be?

What would happen if we let ourselves dream of a good future, instead of the doom we constantly see on the news? What would we do if we led with hope instead of fear, and how will our actions ripple throughout our lives? How will our actions affect the generations that will follow us?

I really liked—and needed—the reminder that I am human. That I am always arriving. That I will do so until my time here ends.

And it's important, my fellow yt women who read this, that we do not just take away rest as resistance. There needs to be action, too.

Pairs really, really nicely with Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future.

[Angie Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! What I love about this book is that if it were hands it would be palms open, fingers out saying "take me as you will, I am here for your service". Kaitlne Curtice writes so openly and vulnerably and then invites us to write like that with our lives. What I feel like doing with this book is making my own and using her chapters as mine. I'd love to do a small group and we each write a book response to this book and work through our own resistance - our relationship with the earth, interspirituality, decolonisation, caring for children etc etc. It is a powerful book because I think it is supposed to go beyond the page its on. There are so many chapters and so there are so many opportunities and threads to which we can live resistance, and its not hard, its what we would want to do and can do as Mamas and I really appreciate that. I appreciate that it is fully tangible. I also think the bibliography is cool and there are heaps of references there to dive into further. Thanks Caitlin, I appreciate your work and your vision for wholeness.

[Sumana · Rating 2 out of 5]

The *~live love laugh~* girlies will eat this up. Perhaps I wasn’t the right audience but it seemed a little basic and trite. Content and intention was great but it just felt like a compilation of verbose Instagram captions

[Tara Cloud Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day by Kaitlin B. Curtis is a firm but gentle guide to seek out internalized -isms and deal with them in an honest, shameless manner. Curtis guides the reader through their personal spaces, communal identities, the history of their peoples, and their spiritual being to find and holistically address the cancer that has rooted in our lives and spread to every area.

This isn’t the only book one should ever read in the pursuit of building an equitable and loving world, but it is an excellent starting place and a devotional that can be revisited regularly with great impact.

So thankful to Curtis for sharing this work with the world. So thankful I was able to receive this gift.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely think I am going to pass this along to some of my friends!

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is based on an ARC provided by NetGalley and Brazos Press. Thank you to both. I also purchased the book from Massy Books, a local, independent bookseller and want to give a shout-out to them for excellent service.

In late 2021, I immediately fell in love with Kaitlin B. Curtice’s poetry and prose after subscribing to her Substack newsletter, The Liminality Journal. This is the first reason I preordered her new book, Living Resistance. The second reason is the book's subtitle, which spoke directly to my heart: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day . I respect and value Indigenous wisdom and sacred teachings, and want to learn and grow. And the third reason I could not wait to hold a copy of this book in my hands: the gorgeous cover art that depicts the overlapping realms of resistance.

If you tend to skip a book’s preface or introduction, I recommend you don’t gloss over this one, which orients, guides and grounds the reader. Kaitlin begins the Introduction in a personal way, writing to the “Dear Reader, Feeler, Explorer, Un-learner, and Friend”. Then, in the next few pages she articulates her vision of living resistance and its four overlapping realms: The Personal, The Communal, The Ancestral, and The Integral. She explains how to actively engage with the book so it becomes a become a “space for us to examine the journey together.” Kaitlin also gives the reader a “kind of medicine” to repeat when the reading becomes heavy or overwhelming: “I am a human being. I am always arriving.” This supportive, inclusive tone continues throughout the book.

While reading Living Resistance, I filled many pages of my journal with quotes from the different sections within each realm.
Here is a sampling:

The Personal Realm
“[M]any of us on the path of healing are realizing that we must reclaim our curiosity toward ourselves and the land around us; we must start asking questions we didn’t ask before. As we do so, things begin shifting, and naturally, resistance follows. For many of us, this is also where we begin the journey of deconstruction. ”

The Communal Realm
“[S]olidarity work really is about the work of being human. In our humanity, we are meant to love ourselves well, to love one another well, and to love earth and the creatures around us well.”

The Ancestral Realm
“[R]esisting hate in the world requires that we draw from a deep, sacred well as humans. We recognize that resisting hate means living generously in any way that we can.”
“When our souls align with our power, and when we push fear of scarcity aside, generosity happens, and the world changes.”

The Integral Realm
“We have been given a certain kind of world, we have helped create a certain kind of world, and we get to dream of what kind of world we want to exist in our future years and after we are gone. This is where the realms overlap, where the space between becomes the center of everything. Who we are becoming today, the ways we choose healing for ourselves and our communities, and the lines of people who came before and will come after — it all matters.”

In each realm Kaitlin emphasizes that healing ourselves and relationships with others cannot be separated from healing our relationship with Mother Earth.

This is a book that requires us to ask questions we are holding deep inside ourselves, some that we might be reluctant to bring to the surface. It is a book is for seekers of wholeness, meaning and healing. Kaitlinn Curtice shows us how we can — and why we must — resist the status quo of intolerance and injustice, and the impacts of colonialism. Even the smallest and commonest of acts — such as writing a book review instead of doom-scrolling — is resistance.

In Kaitlinn’s own words, “In an era in which ‘activism’ and ‘resistance’ are tokenized hot topics, I want to restore these ideas as a basic human calling, one that each of us lives into every day we fight for love….No matter who you are or what you ‘do’ in the world, you have a role to play in finding, understanding, and sharing sacredness, and your acts of extraordinary resistance are the truths that hold us all together.”

With her beautiful, brilliant, visionary book, Kaitlinn has activated this calling within me.

[Ezra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Tantor Audio through Net Galley who allowed me to listen to the audio version of this book.

In “Living Resistance” Kaitlin Curtice shows how almost every part of your life can be an act of resistance. Curtis organizes her material into four realms of resistance: the personal, the communal, the ancestral, and the integral. She explains this framework in the introduction, which makes it easy for readers to orient their understanding throughout the book. I would like more non-fiction books to follow Curtis’ example. At the end of chapters, Curtice suggests a variety of ways that the reader can practice resistance.

While Curtice is a member of the Potawatomi nation, she grew up in a conservative, evangelical Christian community. I grew up in a similar community and I recognize many of the things she describes. I have many good memories of my former community, but also many bad ones. As a Native American girl, Curtice had mostly traumatizing experiences. She talks about having to learn to reclaim her indigenous identity, and to love herself.

The Christians and churches Curtice has had contact with in her professional life are still often negative. Most still have a colonizing mindset. Curtice also discusses the need for BIPOC and other minorities to decolonize themselves and the systems of our country as a form of resistance. She gives several ways people can achieve this decolonization. One thing I was hoping to get a little more from this book is what white males (like me) can and should be doing. Some things she did say about that topic is the idea of indigenization, which is for people in America to let indigenous people lead. And another thing she wrote about is that we need to regularly listen to people from diverse backgrounds. That is where I will start, with listening more.

[Gohnar23 (hiatus but still reading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a QUICK read about a QUICK idea which discusses about it QUICKly and concisely.

This book discusses the idea of resistance and the importance of it for all of us to implement it into our daily lives. It talks about what resistance is, what it stems from, and what it can become.

I've learned such an insight about resistance:

"Resistance means we’re not just rejecting harmful ideologies, but building new paths that uplift marginalized communities."

Also gives a meaningful advice on the sheer complexity of the world and how adults would love to trade curiosity with the unknownness that this world offers, the many things reality can give to a person who would experience all the good and all the bad things, all the fair and at the unfair things, they would trade that with many forms of security.

"To resist means to embrace this cyclical nature, rather than conforming to a linear narrative of success."

[Molly]

I was unfamiliar with this title or author, but I'm so grateful I picked this up on a whim. It was absolutely incredible. Curtice's discussion of her experiences growing up in white, evangelical purity culture resonated so deeply with me. Her call to reconnect with ourselves and our communities outside of racist, patriarchal, and capitalist structures is so timely and powerful. I don't purchase many books, but after finishing the audiobook I promptly purchased this to reread. Highly, HIGHLY recommended.

[Jenn Kause · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!
A perfect guide to seeing the world and resisting in a non-Westernized practice that heals and preserves the soul. I loved the exercises per each chapter, allowing through what you learn to actually practice and initiate in your own existence. As someone who briefly touched on decolonization in my anthropological research, this is such a captivating way to include these ideals and beliefs into your way of living. The author's inclusion of their own approaches and experiences I can see to be very validating for a lot of people and I think they do an excellent job creating not only a practical guideline, but also someone to relate to on a human level.

[G · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this audiobook back in the spring, and fell off until this winter… I think that this could’ve been more concise, and it was too flowery for my taste at a lot of points. However, it is a really important reminder to slow down, and to connect to myself, others, and the land more often.

“Where have we come from? Where are we going? How are we paying attention to the world around us along the way?”

“I am a human being. I am always becoming.”

[Erin Cataldi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Radically different from any other "self-help" guide I've ever read and all the better for it. Kaitlin writes about connecting to ourselves, our earth, each other, our ancestors, and to spirituality. Each section has personal experiences as well as a few tips and a few prompts. You can enact as little or as much as you want and compared to other guides - there is no pressure. I wish I would have savored this book a little longer rather than rushing through reading it. I'll definitely turn back to the text for refreshers and inspiration. No matter your ethnicity or spirituality this book is an important and empowering read.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

get. yourself. this. book.
i have already bought copies for people and i already want to start it again from the beginning.
thanks for getting a copy for me, Katy! 😘

[Jenni Augsburger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kaitlin is a beautiful writer. Her stories, poems, and ideas left me with so much to think about. She frequently references her upbringing in a Baptist church and the fear and anxiety it created in her life. I could absolutely relate to these experiences and I found it freeing to hear about others who have been through similar circumstances. She encourages her readers to “challenge the status quo” and she writes about what this looks like in her own life and challenges her readers to think about what this could look like in their own lives.

[Risa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 stars

This is an excellent non-fiction text about life, the world, and what it means to resist. In addition to speaking from experience and telling captivating stories to make her points, the writer frequently mentions relevant books, TED Talks, poetry, and writing prompts. She also references diverse activists, artists, researchers, and leaders globally, and she concludes chapters with “resistance commitments” in the form of activities, questions, or other prompts. She is intentionally intersectional, inclusive, compassionate in her writing. I found this book fascinating and significant, and I’m looking forward to incorporating passages into future classes.

A couple of lines that I loved:
“I am a human being. I am always arriving.” Resistance is simply choosing to arrive.

An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Poptart19 (the name’s ren) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, RTC!

[SM Greenhill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtaking

I borrowed this on my kindle through my library but I will be purchasing the physical copy along with everything else this author created. As someone who also is Patowatomi, I can't tell you what this means to me to find an author who not only is also from our tribe but to find this type of book that includes snippets of our culture and teaches about life right now and how to process and breakdown and LIVE IN RESISTANCE- Its beautiful. Migwéch ❤

[Maegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reminders of staying grounded, being intentional, connecting with our past, being present in our communities, and so much more!

[Clover · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5
It was okay and I wanted to like it.

This book started off horribly for me. She's an ex-evangelical Christian and it really shows with how many times she mentions God in the first chapter. I was ready to throw the book out the window if I had to read the word "God" one more time. Thankfully the book did get better, but it still mentions religion heavily (mostly Christianity and the Abrahamic Religions with sprinkled mentions of Sihkism, Hinduism and Buddhism).

She mentions "Indigenous, Black, and Brown" people/families a lot, and sometimes LGBTQ+, Queer, and Trans folk, but only mentions Asians on page 27 and not again until page 82, although referencing the pandemic multiple times in between. And then not again from what I read, I did start skimming around Chapter 14: Liminality as Resistance, page 139, and never saw it again. It was such an odd thing when I noticed, and then it just became very obvious the more I read. Asians (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) were also interred in camps and forced into labour and treated terribly through both Canadian and American histories, so to (unintentionally?) leave them out still feels wrong. Maybe they face less injustices as Indigenous, Latinx, South Asians, Black, and Brown people, all of which she mentions multiple times. It's something that bothered me once I noticed.

The book does get better as you read it. But since the dedication page dampened my excitement, and the introduction stamped out my excitement, and the first chapter buried my excitement, it wasn't strong enough to pull me through the whole thing. Especially when there's Indigenous authors who I enjoy more. (Robin Wall Kimmerer and Angela Sterritt are two of my favourites and she references Kimmerer multiple times.)

This is the first book where I'll ever say this: Pick a chapter that sounds good and read it. Read it piecemeal. She does have a reference section, so you could happily read those books and articles instead. She does quote Instagram posts which is the first I've ever seen, maybe it's the new age source? (Please be kidding!)

Because of the heavy religous mentions (evangelical, Southern Baptist) of the author, I won't recommend it or ever buy it. Unless you too have left these religions, maybe it'll be easier for you to read. But this wasn't for me, I won't try it again, and I hope the next person will find more joy in it.

Check your local library first for this one. And always in general.

TBR: 2023
Read: April 15, 2024

[K C · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into Living Resistance hoping for something that would feel deeply rooted and nourishing in the way “Braiding Sweetgrass” did: wise, textured, and surprising even when I already agree with the values underneath it. What I found instead was a book where I appreciated intent rather than connected with the material.

Kaitlin B. Curtice frames “resistance” as an everyday, embodied practice, tied to wholeness in the body, soul, community, and land. The structure reflects that: short reflections, gentle encouragements, and practical “commitments” meant to move the reader from concept into lived practice. In many ways, it reads like a devotional: accessible, earnest, and oriented toward inner formation as much as outward action.

On the one hand, the book is rhetorically generous. It asks readers to slow down, pay attention, and choose repair (especially in ways that connect spirituality to justice and relational responsibility). I can absolutely see this being meaningful for readers who are newer to these frameworks, or who are coming from white/evangelical Christian backgrounds and want a bridge into decolonial, liberation-oriented thinking without feeling shamed or overwhelmed.

On the other hand, I am not the target audience. A lot of the core material (naming systems of harm, interrogating formation, centering embodied awareness) has been familiar territory for me. As such, I wanted more depth, more specificity, and more “earned” insight on the page: not just truth statements I agree with, but the kind of grounded, layered perspective that makes you feel something click in your bones. All in all, not for me, but I appreciate the heart and intention for goodness that Curtice very clearly wants to spread.

[Becca (booksonadventures)]

There are many things to love about this book. Nonfiction can walk a very fine line between radical and informative books about reframing your world and... well, extremely cheesy self-help. Curtice does a great job of toeing this line, bringing great insights and suggestions for how to embody resistance.

However, a significant portion of this book was dedicated to decolonizing Christianity. Don't get me wrong, it's a great goal but... I am truthfully still too angry at the church to approach this with an open heart. In general, Curtice really tries to focus on "spirituality" and use her own faith more as a reoccurring example, but I had a stronger reaction of discomfort to these references than I expected.

All to say this is a somewhat "not for me" book... BUT I still found value in the reading. So much so that I went on to purchase a copy for my grandma! Native land was a discussion at our last Thanksgiving, and I am excited to see how this book finds common ground between two oft opposing topics we feel passionate about.

Overall, I am ALWAYS here for movements that challenge toxic systems and center community, resistance, and justice... so if that's a topic that interests you (especially my Christian friends) I truly hope you enjoy.

[Holly B · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5
"...as we consider out relationship with Earth, the scenario is this: we are the oppressor, telling Earth again and again that she is beautiful and resilient while we pillage and take from her, while we push her back down and tell her to keep getting up. She has been resilient again and again. She has resisted again and again, and yet here we are, fighting not just for the survival of humanity but for her healing. Fighting climate change isn't just so that we can be comfortable again - a people centered climate argument isn't really a climate argument at all. Fighting climate change is about giving Mother Earth the love and respect she has always deserved".

A lot to think about and act on in this book. I had a hard time describing this book to other people and feeling like I did it justice. The vision that Kaitlin has for the future is one that I want to be a part of.

This is not a climate change book, this is a "how to create a future that socially, culturally, and environmentally exists and is welcoming for everyone" kind of book.

[Chloe Draper · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who has ever felt like they can’t hold both and. For anyone who has ever been heartbroken about the world. For anyone who has ever felt like they didn’t belong to a brand of religion/faith, but was faithful in their own way. For anyone who needs healing, and wants to actively resist toxicity: THIS IS FOR YOU. Perfect way to end my year. This book helped me confront more of my whiteness, confront the buried feelings I have about the white-American church, and decide what ways I will continue to resist in my own sacred way. Thank you, Kaitlin B. Curtice!

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much I appreciate about this book and the framework Kaitlin proposes. I was particularly hooked by the idea of resistance / activism not as a time bound action but a way of living. By honoring yourself and letting the self care flow into the honoring of others. Decolonizing and deconstructing to not buy into the zero sum status quo, but dare to dream of new possibilities.
I'll likely purchase this book for later reference and reflection!

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really gentle book. Maybe not deeply revelatory but genuinely sweet, compelling and tender. I think I would really enjoy revisiting this book in community so that I could more thoroughly discuss the prompts she has at the end of each chapter.

I did also really appreciate her revised perspectives on Christianity and prayer in light of her own revelations, growing connection with her indigenous heritage and ancestors, and her reflections on what it all means to her.