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"Strong Medicine" Speaks: A Native American Elder Has Her Say
From the bestselling author of Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years comes the inspiring true story of Marion "Strong Medicine" Gould, a Native American matriarch, and the Indian way of life that must never be forgotten.
Amy Hill Hearth's first book, Having Our Say, told the true story of two century-old African-American sisters and went on to become an enduring bestseller and the subject of a three-time Tony Award-nominated play. In "Strong Medicine" Speaks, Hearth turns her talent for storytelling to a Native American matriarch presenting a powerful account of Indian life.
Born and raised in a nearly secret part of New Jersey that remains Native ancestral land, Marion "Strong Medicine" Gould is an eighty-five-year-old Elder in her Lenni-Lenape tribe and community. Taking turns with the author as the two women alternate voices throughout this moving book, Strong Medicine tells of her ancestry, tracing it back to the first Native peoples to encounter the Europeans in 1524, through the strife and bloodshed of America's early years, up to the twentieth century and her own lifetime, decades colored by oppression and terror yet still lifted up by the strength of an enduring collective spirit.
This genuine and delightful telling gives voice to a powerful female Elder whose dry wit and charming humor will provide wisdom and inspiration to readers from every background.
Amy Hill Hearth's first book, Having Our Say, told the true story of two century-old African-American sisters and went on to become an enduring bestseller and the subject of a three-time Tony Award-nominated play. In "Strong Medicine" Speaks, Hearth turns her talent for storytelling to a Native American matriarch presenting a powerful account of Indian life.
Born and raised in a nearly secret part of New Jersey that remains Native ancestral land, Marion "Strong Medicine" Gould is an eighty-five-year-old Elder in her Lenni-Lenape tribe and community. Taking turns with the author as the two women alternate voices throughout this moving book, Strong Medicine tells of her ancestry, tracing it back to the first Native peoples to encounter the Europeans in 1524, through the strife and bloodshed of America's early years, up to the twentieth century and her own lifetime, decades colored by oppression and terror yet still lifted up by the strength of an enduring collective spirit.
This genuine and delightful telling gives voice to a powerful female Elder whose dry wit and charming humor will provide wisdom and inspiration to readers from every background.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
9 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
Amy Hill Hearth
24 books133 followers"I'm a risk taker with my writing," Amy Hill Hearth (pronounced HARTH) says about her work. "I like to try new genres because I love to be challenged. Following my instincts without thinking of sales potential usually works out for me, anyway." Indeed, Amy's first book, which shocked the publishing world with its completely unexpected success, was the international bestselling oral history, HAVING OUR SAY: THE DELANY SISTERS' FIRST 100 YEARS, a N.Y. Times bestseller for more than two years which was adapted for Broadway and film. That book is still going strong, with new audiobook and ebook editions published Jan. 3, 2023. Since the 1993 publication of HAVING OUR SAY, Amy has written ten more books and won many national awards, with genres ranging from Southern fiction and oral histories for adult readers to biographies for young readers. Next up is Amy's first historical thriller, SILENT CAME THE MONSTER, a novel of the 1916 Jersey Shore shark attacks which will be published May 16, 2023. What her books have in common, she says, is that they are "stories from the past that resonate today." This reflects Amy's lifelong passion for American history as well as a lifelong fascination with the complexities of human nature and interactions. Born in Pittsfield, Mass., Amy has lived in various locations in her life, including Columbia, SC as a child, and, for the last 25 years, at the Jersey Shore.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 31, 2017
The hero of this is not as 'cute' as the Delaney sisters of "Having Our Say." She's definitely a strong woman. Also more reticent. The author had room for a fair bit of contextual history. Still, it's a concise, entertaining, and illuminating read for those new to the topic. And because it's about an eastern Nation, it covered ground I've not encountered in my other readings & experiences, so I learned plenty.
To think that Gould's people would often be better off if they could pass for Black!
Grandmother said, "Marion, if you don't feel right, if you don't feel good, just go outside. Take care of your flowerbed and forget about everything else. If it's wintertime, go dig yourself a path in the snow whether you need it or not. You don't have to think too much to plant anything or scoop now, and your mind can go back and figure out what's wrong." Fantastic advice. Explains why ppl who don't get both fresh air in nature *and* exercise are often the most neurotic.
"During WWII one third of the eligible Indian population served in the military, or three times the rate of the general population."
Charles Seabrook, of New Jersey, needed crop workers in WWII for his 20K acres and hired 2500 Japanese who would have otherwise been shipped to internment camps in the West.
Gould says that her sons "are honest, kindhearted, and they persevere, and those are the qualities that matter most to me."
Notes, bibliography, and other appendices included.
To think that Gould's people would often be better off if they could pass for Black!
Grandmother said, "Marion, if you don't feel right, if you don't feel good, just go outside. Take care of your flowerbed and forget about everything else. If it's wintertime, go dig yourself a path in the snow whether you need it or not. You don't have to think too much to plant anything or scoop now, and your mind can go back and figure out what's wrong." Fantastic advice. Explains why ppl who don't get both fresh air in nature *and* exercise are often the most neurotic.
"During WWII one third of the eligible Indian population served in the military, or three times the rate of the general population."
Charles Seabrook, of New Jersey, needed crop workers in WWII for his 20K acres and hired 2500 Japanese who would have otherwise been shipped to internment camps in the West.
Gould says that her sons "are honest, kindhearted, and they persevere, and those are the qualities that matter most to me."
Notes, bibliography, and other appendices included.
May 6, 2018
Reading this oral history was like all the best parts of listening to a beloved grandparent talk. Marion "Strong Medicine" Gould, who passed away in 2016, was a strong, likeable woman who has led an interesting life. Hearth expertly organized the material to make a sensible, comprehensive narrative of Gould's long life and her own words. I was especially interested to learn of Gould's experiences of Native Americans being categorized with people of color. Another favorite piece of this work was her compelling way if sharing her Lenni-Lenape way of life, such as a sense of rootedness to the ancestral land, strong extended family ties, and a sense of care and responsibility for the earth. I found this book very accessible--quick and easy to read, though not for lack of worthwhile content. I would highly recommend it!
May 24, 2011
Hearth, best known for her oral history of the Delaney sisters Having Our Say, captures the voice of 83-year-old tribe matriarch Marion "Strong Medicine" Gould as she looks back on her life as a Lani Lenape Indian.
A once- powerful tribe ranging across New Jersey and parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware, the arrival of Europeans would eventually turn the Lenape into "a hidden people": says Gould, "We kept quiet in order to survive." With great care, Gould describes the challenges of 20th and 21st century Native Americans and her significant role in her southern New Jersey tribe's transforming way of life. In many ways, Native Americans' modern struggle is for a public identity, especially apparent during the civil rights movement: "All of a sudden, we aren't dark enough.... Indian was not black. We were totally left out in the cold."
Gould locates the source of her strength and the tribe's-the Indian way-in the extended family, and suggests that many people's problems today stem from a lack of "kinfolk to lean on." Poignant moments of love and loss bookend the tale, and in between Hearth works almost invisibly to craft a graceful, sustained look into the quiet struggles of contemporary Native Americans.
A once- powerful tribe ranging across New Jersey and parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware, the arrival of Europeans would eventually turn the Lenape into "a hidden people": says Gould, "We kept quiet in order to survive." With great care, Gould describes the challenges of 20th and 21st century Native Americans and her significant role in her southern New Jersey tribe's transforming way of life. In many ways, Native Americans' modern struggle is for a public identity, especially apparent during the civil rights movement: "All of a sudden, we aren't dark enough.... Indian was not black. We were totally left out in the cold."
Gould locates the source of her strength and the tribe's-the Indian way-in the extended family, and suggests that many people's problems today stem from a lack of "kinfolk to lean on." Poignant moments of love and loss bookend the tale, and in between Hearth works almost invisibly to craft a graceful, sustained look into the quiet struggles of contemporary Native Americans.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 5, 2014
Oral history of Native American elder. Mostly quotes from Strong Medicine, but the other also puts in some of her own comments here and then to help explain things or to provide context. It's a good book for many reasons, but I'll single out one and say that I appreciated how it talked about stereotypes and discrimination and how that affected their lives.
September 21, 2008
this true story from a Lenape Indian elder living in a "secret" Lenape community in N.J, having been thru WWII as well as the Klan years, right up into the current era etc by "passing"along with all her relatives and neighbors was fascinating to me
November 2, 2011
Good story. A lot of "life lessons" to be learned here.
January 20, 2016
I highly recommend this wonderful oral history. This is one of the most open and heartfelt biographies I have read in a long time. I learned a lot!
May 1, 2019
I noted at the end of my review of one of Hill Hearth’s other books, Streetcar to Justice, that I liked it well enough to read more of her work. Thus, given my burgeoning interest in Native American culture and history it seemed logical that I would read Strong Medicine Speaks when I found it was readily available at my local public library.
As I found with Streetcar this book had many strengths. First, the author skillfully organized and edited ‘hundreds of hours’ of conversations she had with Strong Medicine into a coherent, engaging, and highly readable narrative. As with any memoir, particularly one that has been organized and edited by someone else, some of the periods covered were less thorough than I would have preferred. And there are gaps in time that are simply not reported at all. For example, SM alludes to alcohol abuse in her family and/or by members of the community but says little more about it.
That said, however, one still gains clear insight into what it was like for her growing up as a child/teen and then living as an adult in a very small town in southern New Jersey as a an ‘invisible person.’ Ie, Lenape tribe members did not identify themselves as "Indians" in the early to middle years of the 20th century because they risked being removed to reservations in Oklahoma. Instead, they were willing to be seen as Colored People or Negroes, even though that meant they were discriminated against, let alone had to deal with the threats that the KKK presented.
Second, Strong Medicine’s dynamic, strong willed, and resourceful personality comes through loud and clear. So does her sense of humor. There were many moments when I smiled at how this woman described her life and her relationships with others. There were even a few occasions when I laughed out loud. One cannot help admiring this woman's determined and joyful approach to living with and overcoming many challenges in life.
Third, Hill Hearth provided some context with brief introductions to each of the eleven sections of the book. These sections included such topics as The Hidden People, In the Land of the Ancestors, Changing Times, A Woman's World, and Native Pride, etc. Her references to other books about the NA people in general and the Lenape tribe in particular demonstrated how much research she had done. I must note, however, that I wish that some of these introductions had even more historical, social, or cultural information in them. For example, the author disclosed that the tribe is made up of 3 subgroups living in southern NJ, eastern Pennsylvania, and Delaware. But she did not explain how/why that took place. She also noted that there are Lenape living on reservations in Oklahoma and scattered about in other states as well as the province of Ontario in Canada. She fails to include more information as to how this all happened. Perhaps her background as a journalist rather than an academician was why these introductions were less comprehensive than I would have preferred.
Fourth, the book included numerous photos of Strong Medicine at various ages as well as some of her family members. These gave the narrative an even deeper and richer quality than the mere written word could have. A few maps of the area in which most of the book takes place would have made it both more reader friendly. Ie, I would not have had to stop and look places up via Google.
Finally, there are two short appendices at the end of the book. These provide some examples of the language that the Lenape speak and a sampling of some of the tribe's myths.
Altogether, Hill Hearth deserves kudos for her ability to engage Strong Medicine and other members of the tribe in such a deep and meaningful way. She produced an engaging, enjoyable, and informative book. So much so that I will read more of her work in the coming months.
As I found with Streetcar this book had many strengths. First, the author skillfully organized and edited ‘hundreds of hours’ of conversations she had with Strong Medicine into a coherent, engaging, and highly readable narrative. As with any memoir, particularly one that has been organized and edited by someone else, some of the periods covered were less thorough than I would have preferred. And there are gaps in time that are simply not reported at all. For example, SM alludes to alcohol abuse in her family and/or by members of the community but says little more about it.
That said, however, one still gains clear insight into what it was like for her growing up as a child/teen and then living as an adult in a very small town in southern New Jersey as a an ‘invisible person.’ Ie, Lenape tribe members did not identify themselves as "Indians" in the early to middle years of the 20th century because they risked being removed to reservations in Oklahoma. Instead, they were willing to be seen as Colored People or Negroes, even though that meant they were discriminated against, let alone had to deal with the threats that the KKK presented.
Second, Strong Medicine’s dynamic, strong willed, and resourceful personality comes through loud and clear. So does her sense of humor. There were many moments when I smiled at how this woman described her life and her relationships with others. There were even a few occasions when I laughed out loud. One cannot help admiring this woman's determined and joyful approach to living with and overcoming many challenges in life.
Third, Hill Hearth provided some context with brief introductions to each of the eleven sections of the book. These sections included such topics as The Hidden People, In the Land of the Ancestors, Changing Times, A Woman's World, and Native Pride, etc. Her references to other books about the NA people in general and the Lenape tribe in particular demonstrated how much research she had done. I must note, however, that I wish that some of these introductions had even more historical, social, or cultural information in them. For example, the author disclosed that the tribe is made up of 3 subgroups living in southern NJ, eastern Pennsylvania, and Delaware. But she did not explain how/why that took place. She also noted that there are Lenape living on reservations in Oklahoma and scattered about in other states as well as the province of Ontario in Canada. She fails to include more information as to how this all happened. Perhaps her background as a journalist rather than an academician was why these introductions were less comprehensive than I would have preferred.
Fourth, the book included numerous photos of Strong Medicine at various ages as well as some of her family members. These gave the narrative an even deeper and richer quality than the mere written word could have. A few maps of the area in which most of the book takes place would have made it both more reader friendly. Ie, I would not have had to stop and look places up via Google.
Finally, there are two short appendices at the end of the book. These provide some examples of the language that the Lenape speak and a sampling of some of the tribe's myths.
Altogether, Hill Hearth deserves kudos for her ability to engage Strong Medicine and other members of the tribe in such a deep and meaningful way. She produced an engaging, enjoyable, and informative book. So much so that I will read more of her work in the coming months.
July 27, 2023
This book shows how one woman kept alive the spirit of her Native American tribe while living in modern society. Marion Strong Medicine shows us why her culture is valuable- its insistence on family and land and community.
And she has a sense of humor:
"Lenape marriage, going way back, is supposed to be a partnership. It's between the two of you, and together you make decisions. You're both thinking the same way after a while, hopefully. And if he wants to be the wheel, let him be the wheel. You don't care if you're the hubcap or something."
Strong Medicine makes it clear that white people should listen to Native people:
"According to the religious history of the Lenape, called the Wallum Olum, our people migrated to the North American continent across the Bering Strait.... Some white scholars cast doubt on the Wallum Olum, or at least the version of it that was written down by one white guy a century ago. I don't see what gives these white people the right to be quibbling about it. It's our story, not theirs. If they want to help us by studying and researching it, that's one thing. They are welcome to do that. But they should work with us, and listen to what we have to say."
And she has a sense of humor:
"Lenape marriage, going way back, is supposed to be a partnership. It's between the two of you, and together you make decisions. You're both thinking the same way after a while, hopefully. And if he wants to be the wheel, let him be the wheel. You don't care if you're the hubcap or something."
Strong Medicine makes it clear that white people should listen to Native people:
"According to the religious history of the Lenape, called the Wallum Olum, our people migrated to the North American continent across the Bering Strait.... Some white scholars cast doubt on the Wallum Olum, or at least the version of it that was written down by one white guy a century ago. I don't see what gives these white people the right to be quibbling about it. It's our story, not theirs. If they want to help us by studying and researching it, that's one thing. They are welcome to do that. But they should work with us, and listen to what we have to say."
December 22, 2024
Very slow the first 60 or so pages. But once the memoir really got going, it was interesting to learn about this Native Elder’s life and culture. Her pragmatic approach to life, respect for traditions and customs lends an authenticity and simplicity to a respectful way of life and nature. Native Americans have lost so much over the past 400+ years, nearly being annihilated during the American Holocaust by early Europeans. Yet they have shown a resiliency and enduring faith in their culture that is admirable. Oh that we all should be so honest and truthful to our heritage.
January 29, 2025
I’m so grateful to Strong Medicine for sharing her strength through the telling of the ways of her people, ways that I choose to practice in Praising our Creator and caring for all that is provided by Creator. I’m grateful too for Amy Hill Hearth, and her gift of documenting the lives of the people that she writes about. I’m looking forward to reading another of her books, In a World Gone Mad. Amy’s books, though written years ago, are so relevant today and should not be overlooked.
January 9, 2026
Overall, a good book. It is divided between the narrative of Strong Medicine, who recalls memories of her life as a Lenape Indian, and chapters of informative commentary from the author.
The first-person narrative was rather interesting, as it was told in the way that "older people" tell a story, a way that leaves an audience curious about what happens next. It's a lost art, I think-- the art of storytelling. The author's commentary was also interesting because she provided the historical background and context that enhanced our understanding of Strong Medicine's story.
The first-person narrative was rather interesting, as it was told in the way that "older people" tell a story, a way that leaves an audience curious about what happens next. It's a lost art, I think-- the art of storytelling. The author's commentary was also interesting because she provided the historical background and context that enhanced our understanding of Strong Medicine's story.
October 22, 2019
Very well written oral history recounting of a Lenape elder.
Well interspersed with historical and explanatory commentary.
Well interspersed with historical and explanatory commentary.
April 13, 2021
I just re-read this book about a wonderful Lenape Elder. Strong Woman's oral history of the Lenape told me precious truth's about the First Peoples in the lands of my birth.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews