I Love You So Many: A Native Memoir of Adventure, Culture, and Family

by Terria Smith

From a celebrated Native journalist, an electrifying memoir of travel, love, friendships, and connection across cultures.

Growing up on the Torres Martinez Reservation in Southern California, Terria Smith longed for adventure. She became a journalist, hitting the road and reporting on the rich lives of Native people around the United States. As her hunger for travel grew, so did her understanding of community, and what it means to be a world citizen today. I Love You So Many—named after a favorite expression of her Spanish-speaking relatives—follows Smith from her ancestral homelands to Cuba, Iceland, Guyana, and back again. With exuberant, laugh-out-loud style she tells stories about forging profound friendships, falling in and out of love, and celebrating the determination that carried her through hard and heady times alike. She brings a fresh sensibility to travel writing, building enduring relationships with the people and cultures she visits. For Smith, travel is deeply rooted in Native It’s about sharing, reciprocity, risk-taking, and the valuable (and sometimes awkward) work of bridging and holding differences. As fun as it is poignant, I Love You So Many is an irresistible tribute to getting out and living a life in full.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Native American

240 pages, Paperback

Published June 23, 2026

About the author

Terria Smith is a tribal member of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians. For more than five years she has been working as the editor of News From Native California, a quarterly magazine devoted to the vibrant cultures, art, languages, histories, social justice movements, and stories of California’s diverse Indian peoples. Terria is also the director of California Indian Publishing at Heyday. She is a member of the Native American Journalists Association and an alumna of the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

Reviews

[Inez Houston]

Wow!
What a memoir, An amazing adventure was had.

I could only hear this whole book in the authors voice the whole read.

Being able to travel alone or with someone and just describe the beauty and amazing friendships along the way so vividly made me feel as if I seen these places too.

I love that not matter the hardships you had you never gave up on your happiness and continued to do what makes you happy. I hope you continue to travel and learn so much from every place you go to and always share your stories.

Your stories made me laugh, cry and just overall in awe of the places you have been and the challenges you have overcome. I am so proud of what you have accomplished and I’m happy to call you family 💜

Keep up with the amazing writing, this was such a good read.

[Taté Walker]

Take a ride with your bestie. The journey is full of laughs, tears, and solid advice. I felt like I was roadtripping with my cousin, auntie, work wife, and kiddo.

[Nicole]

A great travelogue memoir.
She is a tribal member of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians.

Each chapter traces a different city, state, region, or country she has visited. A few sections cover her visits to Cuba.

[Rmarie]

I loved reading about Terria’s travel adventures. She is a fearless traveler that takes us along as she explores Cuba, Iceland, Guyana, Costa Rica, Mexico City and more. Besides the locations, Terria opens her heart for us to feel her experiences. She will inspire your wanderlust.

[Michaela]

3.5

[Bridgette]

*well-written, easy to read
*powerful storytelling
*sweet, emotional feel good book
*highly recommend