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Not from Here: A Memoir
When Allan Johnson asked his dying father where he wanted his ashes to be placed, his father replied--without hesitation--that it made no difference to him at all. In his poignant, powerful memoir, Not from Here, Johnson embarks on an extraordinary, 2,000-mile journey across the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains to find the place where his father's ashes belonged.
As a white man with Norwegian and English lineage, Johnson explores both America and the question of belonging to a place whose history holds the continuing legacy of the displacement, dispossession, and genocide of Native peoples.
More than a personal narrative, Not from Here illuminates the national silence around unresolved questions of accountability, race, and identity politics, and the dilemma of how to take responsibility for a past we did not create. Johnson's story--about the past living in the present; of redemption, fate, family, tribe, and nation; of love and grief--raises profound questions about belonging, identity, and place.
As a white man with Norwegian and English lineage, Johnson explores both America and the question of belonging to a place whose history holds the continuing legacy of the displacement, dispossession, and genocide of Native peoples.
More than a personal narrative, Not from Here illuminates the national silence around unresolved questions of accountability, race, and identity politics, and the dilemma of how to take responsibility for a past we did not create. Johnson's story--about the past living in the present; of redemption, fate, family, tribe, and nation; of love and grief--raises profound questions about belonging, identity, and place.
- GenresMemoirNonfiction
176 pages, Hardcover
First published June 12, 2015
74 people want to read
About the author
Allan G. Johnson
19 books65 followersAllan G. Johnson is a novelist, nonfiction writer, sociologist, teacher, and public speaker who has spent much of his life trying to understand the human condition, especially as shaped by issues of gender, race, and social class. His nonfiction books have been translated into several languages, and his first novel, The First Thing and the Last, was recognized in 2010 by Publishers Weekly as a notable debut work of fiction and named a “Great Read” by O Magazine. His memoir, Not from Here, was published in 2015.
He was born in Washington, DC, in 1946 and at the age of six went with his family to live for two years in Oslo, Norway, where his father worked in the U.S. embassy. Returning from Norway, his family settled in Massachusetts where he did the rest of his growing up. He wrote his first (very) short story when he was ten years old. He wrote poetry and short fiction all through high school, winning awards for both in his senior year, and continued writing on into college.
He earned a PhD in Sociology at the University of Michigan in 1968 and taught for eight years at Wesleyan University. During this time—when the radical feminist women's movement was at its height—he became involved in the rape crisis movement and began his exploration of patriarchy and systems of privilege.
Striking out on his own after not receiving tenure, he spent a year writing short stories before the necessity to earn a living took him back to nonfiction writing and part-time college teaching.
By the late 1990s he was writing and speaking widely about issues of privilege and oppression, and he had finally returned to his roots as a fiction writer with the start of his first novel, The First Thing and the Last, a story of healing and redemption in the aftermath of domestic violence. His second novel, Nothing Left to Lose, the story of a family in crisis during the Vietnam War, was published in 2011.
He lives with his life partner, Nora L. Jamieson, in the hills of northwestern Connecticut.
He was born in Washington, DC, in 1946 and at the age of six went with his family to live for two years in Oslo, Norway, where his father worked in the U.S. embassy. Returning from Norway, his family settled in Massachusetts where he did the rest of his growing up. He wrote his first (very) short story when he was ten years old. He wrote poetry and short fiction all through high school, winning awards for both in his senior year, and continued writing on into college.
He earned a PhD in Sociology at the University of Michigan in 1968 and taught for eight years at Wesleyan University. During this time—when the radical feminist women's movement was at its height—he became involved in the rape crisis movement and began his exploration of patriarchy and systems of privilege.
Striking out on his own after not receiving tenure, he spent a year writing short stories before the necessity to earn a living took him back to nonfiction writing and part-time college teaching.
By the late 1990s he was writing and speaking widely about issues of privilege and oppression, and he had finally returned to his roots as a fiction writer with the start of his first novel, The First Thing and the Last, a story of healing and redemption in the aftermath of domestic violence. His second novel, Nothing Left to Lose, the story of a family in crisis during the Vietnam War, was published in 2011.
He lives with his life partner, Nora L. Jamieson, in the hills of northwestern Connecticut.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 24, 2015
A deeply personal journey of grief, family, and self reflection. Allan Johnson's writing was at time lyrical. I have lost both of parents in the last few years so a lot of the emotions expressed struck a deep chord.
The lossAllan G Johnson's father leads him on an important journey through his history and begs the questions of where home truly is. Profound and thought-provoking.
The lossAllan G Johnson's father leads him on an important journey through his history and begs the questions of where home truly is. Profound and thought-provoking.
June 26, 2015
This is not only an exquisitely crafted memoir of a son seeking a place for his father’s ashes. This is not only an exploration of the right relationship between the living and the dead, the ethical and emotional responsibilities we have to each other. This is also a heartbreaking and exact investigation of the ways our ancestors call us into the vortex of history, demanding that we confront and respond to the deeds done, the harm wreaked on the land and the Native people who were here before us. How we bury our dead requires us also to unearth the harm done and to bring healing to the line that must recognize and include all our relations. A profound text from a beautiful soul.
May 11, 2017
Beautifully written memoir of identity and place, how they have become so interconnected and how they define who we think we are, and who we'd like to be. A definite recommended read.
June 4, 2015
Allan is on a quest to find the perfect place for his father's ashes. His father told him it didn't matter at all where his ashes went. To Allen, this just wasn't good enough. He sets out to find the perfect place for his father's ashes. Not From Here is his quest and reflections on where home might be for someone who traveled throughout his life.
I think this memoir was well written. Allan asks all the important questions in his journey. Is one place better then another? Who really owns the land we call home? It was so moving to see him try to understand the man born of immigrants on land that was not rightfully there's to own. He goes off on a tangent about territory rights for Native Americans. He carries the guilt of his people, (whites in America), acquiring the land they called home in shameful ways. He goes through the history of the land and talks about it honestly. He tries to trace his father's history, even going so far as to find the place he was born. It was an interesting journey for a man in his 60s. His desperation to figure out where to place his father's ashes was palpable.
The problem with this memoir that will be felt by some readers, is that it moves very slowly. Life doesn't happen too fast for someone in Allan shoes. Also, Allan rambles a bit. This isn't a very long story and I finished it in two sittings. I felt like this will not appeal to everyone. I enjoyed most of this book. It was somewhat captivating to me, but my interest in family heritage and memoirs as a genre might have made me a bit bias. At some points I forgot the quest entirely and just went along with the journey. I think the last line really sums it up perfectly for me. I left this book feeling good about life, can't really ask for more than that from a memoir.
I think this memoir was well written. Allan asks all the important questions in his journey. Is one place better then another? Who really owns the land we call home? It was so moving to see him try to understand the man born of immigrants on land that was not rightfully there's to own. He goes off on a tangent about territory rights for Native Americans. He carries the guilt of his people, (whites in America), acquiring the land they called home in shameful ways. He goes through the history of the land and talks about it honestly. He tries to trace his father's history, even going so far as to find the place he was born. It was an interesting journey for a man in his 60s. His desperation to figure out where to place his father's ashes was palpable.
The problem with this memoir that will be felt by some readers, is that it moves very slowly. Life doesn't happen too fast for someone in Allan shoes. Also, Allan rambles a bit. This isn't a very long story and I finished it in two sittings. I felt like this will not appeal to everyone. I enjoyed most of this book. It was somewhat captivating to me, but my interest in family heritage and memoirs as a genre might have made me a bit bias. At some points I forgot the quest entirely and just went along with the journey. I think the last line really sums it up perfectly for me. I left this book feeling good about life, can't really ask for more than that from a memoir.
December 27, 2014
I liked this book. The writing is excellent, but it is directed at a specific audience. Middle aged, white, grieving, or contemplative men will see themselves and the search for identity here. Well written and interesting, I would most use the work contemplative to describe it. The writing is reminiscent of Frost in its imagery. I think the connections that readers make to this book will be individual and private; but deep and interesting.
August 12, 2016
"He is always examining concepts and feelings from multiple angles-fully embracing the complexity of lived experience and the ways that the dead and the living are interconnected."
read more: http://likeiamfeasting.blogspot.gr/20...
read more: http://likeiamfeasting.blogspot.gr/20...
November 9, 2016
Rambles too much but a good introspective read about trying to reconcile past and present.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews