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Spíləx̣m: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence
If the hurt and grief we carry is a woven blanket, it is time to weave ourselves anew.
In the Nłeʔkepmxcín language, spíləx̣m are remembered stories, often shared over tea in the quiet hours between Elders. Rooted within the British Columbia landscape, and with an almost tactile representation of being on the land and water, Spíləx̣m explores resilience, reconnection, and narrative memory through stories.
Captivating and deeply moving, this story basket of memories tells one Indigenous woman’s journey of overcoming adversity and colonial trauma to find strength through creative works and traditional perspectives of healing, transformation, and resurgence.
In the Nłeʔkepmxcín language, spíləx̣m are remembered stories, often shared over tea in the quiet hours between Elders. Rooted within the British Columbia landscape, and with an almost tactile representation of being on the land and water, Spíləx̣m explores resilience, reconnection, and narrative memory through stories.
Captivating and deeply moving, this story basket of memories tells one Indigenous woman’s journey of overcoming adversity and colonial trauma to find strength through creative works and traditional perspectives of healing, transformation, and resurgence.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published September 28, 2021
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187 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 13, 2022
If there were ever a title that cried out to be heard aloud even among readers who otherwise prefer print, Nicola I. Campbell’s memoir, “Spíləx̣m: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence” is such a book. Spíləx̣m is a Nłeʔkepmxcín term for remembered stories, and award-winning Nłeʔkepmx, Syilx and Métis author Campbell meshes these recollections and tales with poetry, songs, letters and essays in vigorous English, casually interspersed with words from multiple Indigenous languages. Rendered on the page in glyph-laden phonetic spellings that are apt to confound the unlettered, these words take wing when released into sound. With her soothing voice, Campbell gives a heartfelt and moving performance, easily shifting between styles and registers, including a spirited spontaneous embodiment of her younger self, as she recounts her coming of age, and her eventual reckoning with and working to heal personal and collective colonial trauma. Late in the book, Campbell recalls a Lushootseed-speaking elder at a language conference in Seattle who wisely cautioned his listeners about the power of the stories we choose to tell, and their ability to heal and to harm. “They are a spirit within themselves, and we are only the channel that brings them to life. Like tiny beings, they dance, they move around and they enter us and that’s when they do their work.” With care, humility and stirring eloquence, Campbell puts her own stories to work in the best way possible, and we feel privileged to receive them.
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December 22, 2023A testament of a life of recovery and resistance. The format was comforting, feeling like the author was telling me stories of their youth and their truths across a pot of tea rather than a structured and 'conventional' memoir. The verse that was included was powerful and so complementary to the author's message. It felt confident, reflective, and aware of its impact and its purpose. I look at the land differently since reading this local author's celebration of it.
content warnings:
Graphic: Racism, Alcohol, Genocide, Sexual assault, Rape, and Colonisation
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Suicidal thoughts
content warnings:
Graphic: Racism, Alcohol, Genocide, Sexual assault, Rape, and Colonisation
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Suicidal thoughts
May 21, 2022
This was an outstanding book.
I loved the writing, the stories, and the open/honest author (Campbell).
One of the best Indigenous reads over the last few months.
I learned so much about BC Indigenous culture from this book.
Strong book.
Nicola is an amazing writer. I would keep an eye on them!
Would recommend!
4.8/5
I loved the writing, the stories, and the open/honest author (Campbell).
One of the best Indigenous reads over the last few months.
I learned so much about BC Indigenous culture from this book.
Strong book.
Nicola is an amazing writer. I would keep an eye on them!
Would recommend!
4.8/5
June 10, 2022
Wow I'm so glad the publisher was kind enough to send me a copy of this book, otherwise I would never have found it!
June 28, 2022
I’m a sucker for a memoir where the author narrates, and let me tell you, Nicola I. Campbell has the most beautiful, soothing voice. Campbell weaves reflections on the land and traditional knowledge, which is told in such a conversational way, as if you’re at a coffee table and chatting with relatives about family history and ancestral connections.
Combining the Nleʔkepmxcín language, poetics, and histories into her life examinations really adds a level of beauty and complexity into this memoir. Her immersive retellings transport you directly into the story, where settings become full characters. Truly, Campbell does an amazing job describing her environments, so much so that you can smell the wild tiger lilies she talks about (another fun fact about me, these are my favourite flowers!)
Pick up this book if:
- You loved The Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean and would enjoy a darker but still as cozy audiobook
- The poetics of Leanne Betasamosake Simpson resonate with you
- You are looking for the perfect road trip book
- You want to read a personalized book on Indigenous histories to add to your reading list for National Indigenous History Month and beyond
Thank you Netgalley and Portage & Main Press for providing me with an advanced listening copy of this book—I can’t recommend this audiobook enough!
Combining the Nleʔkepmxcín language, poetics, and histories into her life examinations really adds a level of beauty and complexity into this memoir. Her immersive retellings transport you directly into the story, where settings become full characters. Truly, Campbell does an amazing job describing her environments, so much so that you can smell the wild tiger lilies she talks about (another fun fact about me, these are my favourite flowers!)
Pick up this book if:
- You loved The Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean and would enjoy a darker but still as cozy audiobook
- The poetics of Leanne Betasamosake Simpson resonate with you
- You are looking for the perfect road trip book
- You want to read a personalized book on Indigenous histories to add to your reading list for National Indigenous History Month and beyond
Thank you Netgalley and Portage & Main Press for providing me with an advanced listening copy of this book—I can’t recommend this audiobook enough!
October 15, 2021
A very touching and well written memoir. I love the different writing forms used throughout, poetry, short stories, journal entries etc. A beautiful stitching together of the authors life.
July 6, 2022
Spílexm: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence
Spílexm refers to the shared stories among Elders in the Nłeʔkepmxcín language. And this encapsulates Spílexm excellently. Spílexm weaves together vignettes from the author’s life with life lessons on resilience and harrowing facts of Native erasure in Canada.
I learned so much from this book. I haven’t read many books in the past written by Inndigenous people, so I was happy to add this one to my collection. This book should receive as much acclaim as Braiding Sweetgrass as being a leading voice for Indigenous peoples advocacy and rights.
The storytelling style was very interesting. Campbell doesn’t tell all of her stories in a traditionally logical order. Spílexm uses elements of memoir to tell a story, but Campbell skips in time and interrupts stories in the middle to give a lesson on resilience. I personally liked this jigsaw style of writing, but I understand it might not be for everyone.
At first I felt myself questioning who this book is for. At times, it felt like it was veering into toxic positivity territory. Resilience has become a buzzword for me that elicits an eye-roll. But when I realized that she was writing this book for other Indigenous people, I stepped outside my privilege and really listened to what she was saying. This book isn’t for non-Natives looking for a tragic story to make them feel more well-rounded, but really just more safe in their privilege; this is for those Native people to be seen and reassured that they are not in their suffering alone. This is what I liked best about the book.
I will give a content warning for this book (again, not for non-Native people, because this content warning is not an excuse to turn your back on the devastating effects of colonialism). It talks a lot about the genocide that occurs in the residential schools. There are also several mentions of suicide.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. Campbell holds nothing back in this gripping content, and she knows exactly who she is speaking to without making anyone feel isolated.
Spílexm refers to the shared stories among Elders in the Nłeʔkepmxcín language. And this encapsulates Spílexm excellently. Spílexm weaves together vignettes from the author’s life with life lessons on resilience and harrowing facts of Native erasure in Canada.
I learned so much from this book. I haven’t read many books in the past written by Inndigenous people, so I was happy to add this one to my collection. This book should receive as much acclaim as Braiding Sweetgrass as being a leading voice for Indigenous peoples advocacy and rights.
The storytelling style was very interesting. Campbell doesn’t tell all of her stories in a traditionally logical order. Spílexm uses elements of memoir to tell a story, but Campbell skips in time and interrupts stories in the middle to give a lesson on resilience. I personally liked this jigsaw style of writing, but I understand it might not be for everyone.
At first I felt myself questioning who this book is for. At times, it felt like it was veering into toxic positivity territory. Resilience has become a buzzword for me that elicits an eye-roll. But when I realized that she was writing this book for other Indigenous people, I stepped outside my privilege and really listened to what she was saying. This book isn’t for non-Natives looking for a tragic story to make them feel more well-rounded, but really just more safe in their privilege; this is for those Native people to be seen and reassured that they are not in their suffering alone. This is what I liked best about the book.
I will give a content warning for this book (again, not for non-Native people, because this content warning is not an excuse to turn your back on the devastating effects of colonialism). It talks a lot about the genocide that occurs in the residential schools. There are also several mentions of suicide.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. Campbell holds nothing back in this gripping content, and she knows exactly who she is speaking to without making anyone feel isolated.
May 14, 2023
Review: Spílexm: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence by Nicola I. Campbell
This text is an autobiographical account that is part narrative essays and poetry. Beginning in her childhood, Campbell recounts her experience as a child of residential school survivors and a young adult dealing with the deaths of loved ones. Her writing starts when she does, in difficult internal and external struggles, and develops into moments of teaching, reconnection, and resurgence. The poetry is beautiful and poignant. I found the poem at the end of the narrative essay “Learning to Heal” especially moving.
Spílexm is a beautiful journey and weaving of experience. I recommend taking your time to sit in the various stages and listen to Campbell’s story.
This text is an autobiographical account that is part narrative essays and poetry. Beginning in her childhood, Campbell recounts her experience as a child of residential school survivors and a young adult dealing with the deaths of loved ones. Her writing starts when she does, in difficult internal and external struggles, and develops into moments of teaching, reconnection, and resurgence. The poetry is beautiful and poignant. I found the poem at the end of the narrative essay “Learning to Heal” especially moving.
Spílexm is a beautiful journey and weaving of experience. I recommend taking your time to sit in the various stages and listen to Campbell’s story.
September 7, 2022
In Spíləx̣m, Nicola Campbell recounts her memories of overcoming adversity and colonial trauma to find strength and healing through creative works and traditional perspectives.
Nicola Campbell did a fabulous job both writing and narrating this memoir. I enjoyed getting to know more about the British Columbia Indigenous culture through Campbell’s stories. Some of the things she endured were horrendous, and I am happy for her that she was one of the people able to come through to the other side. I highly recommend this memoir!
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.
Nicola Campbell did a fabulous job both writing and narrating this memoir. I enjoyed getting to know more about the British Columbia Indigenous culture through Campbell’s stories. Some of the things she endured were horrendous, and I am happy for her that she was one of the people able to come through to the other side. I highly recommend this memoir!
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.
December 17, 2021
12/15/2021 3.5 stars. Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.
12/17/2021 Hrm, well, if I'd known this was essentially a memoir by a woman in her 40s, I would have probably skipped it (as I do for memoirs by men in their 30s, and for roughly the same reasons.) I feel that the 40s are a bad age for a woman to try to do a retrospective on her life, and I think it has a lot to do with how Western thought has taught us that this is an age where we've achieved enough wisdom to look back on our lives and even-handedly consider them. Because, too, memoirs at this age seem to be a complacent "this is how I've achieved happiness" how-to, and then half the time reading them, I'm cringing because the author clearly has a lot of sublimated misery that another decade will absolutely help her figure out. Weirdly, memoirs by younger women don't have this problem, probably because they're not expected to have all the answers yet and are usually focused on single events or topics instead of being a whole life retrospective.
I actually didn't realize this was a memoir at all when I started it: I thought it was the transcription of an oral history, or a collection -- a weaving, as in the title -- of the stories of a people, perhaps a family. And in large part, it is, or at least that's where it begins, with letters written from Nicola I Campbell's mom from when the author was a baby. Ms Campbell's poetry is interspersed with short personal essays that detail her childhood and troubled adolescence, and how she assimilated her people's culture and pain as she grew, eventually focusing on personal growth and then the upholding of her people's ways and memories. Worthy aims certainly, and there are a lot of ways in which that last is manifested throughout this book. The use of Indigenous language and the frank discussions of the intergenerational trauma that continues to impact her and her people make for compelling reading. The poetry, too, isn't bad.
And yet, and yet. While I appreciated the glossary at the end, I wish there'd been a pronunciation guide as well, so that my brain could spend more time on the prose and ideas rather than mulling over whether I was pronouncing the words properly in my head. Never mind not knowing what half of them meant in the moment: I could gather enough from context but kept snagging on how to correlate spelling with sound, with failure resulting in a sort of white noise effect in my head -- very distracting when trying to read. There's also a weird, crescendoing emphasis on exercise, such that when she finally mentioned she does Crossfit, my eyes rolled so far back in my head, I nearly gave myself a concussion. Contrast this with my impatience with her younger self's waffling about canoeing in earlier chapters. As someone whose adult-onset asthma has sharply curtailed the amount of exercise I can get these past few years, I found the "just do it" chirpiness of the newly converted incredibly grating. If only, madam, if only.
But the greatest flaw of this book is the lack of thematic structure, with themes repeated in ways that feel less intentional than sloppy. While I was grateful for the insight into the lives and culture of the Indigenous people of present-day British Columbia, as well as for the throughline of the prose narrative following the author's own life, I wished there had been greater rigor in addressing, particularly, controversies and personal tragedies. Euphemisms do a lot more work in this collection than is warranted. If you'll allow me to make one here myself: while I get that weavings are supposed to allow for a blend of color and material, the best ones depict clear pattern and form, displaying the weaver's mastery of the art. A weaving that's just a muddied jumble is still a weaving, sure, but it's merely functional, not the kind of art you'd expect in a book that presents itself this ambitiously.
Perhaps I am being too hard on this memoir. While the first three-quarters are pretty good, the last quarter just gets weirdly repetitive and anxiously self-indulgent, as if the author knows this isn't a good way to end this book but doesn't know how to make it better (hence the blathering about exercise and the story about biking that even I, as an avid bicyclist, thought hella weird in the context of the rest of the volume.) I did appreciate her support of LGBTQ+ rights, tho thought her injunction to love and forgive ourselves, while coming from a good place, felt like a facile attempt to cap the story instead of engaging properly with concrete ways to change the system that scarred her and her people so indelibly to begin with. Healing is good and necessary, but so is action and prevention, and just shrugging off the racism of white people isn't enough. Education, at least, is a good start, and as an accessible enough guide to the author's Indigenous culture, this is fine. I just feel that it had the potential to be so much more.
Spílexm: A Weaving Of Recovery, Resilience, And Resurgence by Nicola I. Campbell was published September 28 2021 by Highwater Press and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
12/17/2021 Hrm, well, if I'd known this was essentially a memoir by a woman in her 40s, I would have probably skipped it (as I do for memoirs by men in their 30s, and for roughly the same reasons.) I feel that the 40s are a bad age for a woman to try to do a retrospective on her life, and I think it has a lot to do with how Western thought has taught us that this is an age where we've achieved enough wisdom to look back on our lives and even-handedly consider them. Because, too, memoirs at this age seem to be a complacent "this is how I've achieved happiness" how-to, and then half the time reading them, I'm cringing because the author clearly has a lot of sublimated misery that another decade will absolutely help her figure out. Weirdly, memoirs by younger women don't have this problem, probably because they're not expected to have all the answers yet and are usually focused on single events or topics instead of being a whole life retrospective.
I actually didn't realize this was a memoir at all when I started it: I thought it was the transcription of an oral history, or a collection -- a weaving, as in the title -- of the stories of a people, perhaps a family. And in large part, it is, or at least that's where it begins, with letters written from Nicola I Campbell's mom from when the author was a baby. Ms Campbell's poetry is interspersed with short personal essays that detail her childhood and troubled adolescence, and how she assimilated her people's culture and pain as she grew, eventually focusing on personal growth and then the upholding of her people's ways and memories. Worthy aims certainly, and there are a lot of ways in which that last is manifested throughout this book. The use of Indigenous language and the frank discussions of the intergenerational trauma that continues to impact her and her people make for compelling reading. The poetry, too, isn't bad.
And yet, and yet. While I appreciated the glossary at the end, I wish there'd been a pronunciation guide as well, so that my brain could spend more time on the prose and ideas rather than mulling over whether I was pronouncing the words properly in my head. Never mind not knowing what half of them meant in the moment: I could gather enough from context but kept snagging on how to correlate spelling with sound, with failure resulting in a sort of white noise effect in my head -- very distracting when trying to read. There's also a weird, crescendoing emphasis on exercise, such that when she finally mentioned she does Crossfit, my eyes rolled so far back in my head, I nearly gave myself a concussion. Contrast this with my impatience with her younger self's waffling about canoeing in earlier chapters. As someone whose adult-onset asthma has sharply curtailed the amount of exercise I can get these past few years, I found the "just do it" chirpiness of the newly converted incredibly grating. If only, madam, if only.
But the greatest flaw of this book is the lack of thematic structure, with themes repeated in ways that feel less intentional than sloppy. While I was grateful for the insight into the lives and culture of the Indigenous people of present-day British Columbia, as well as for the throughline of the prose narrative following the author's own life, I wished there had been greater rigor in addressing, particularly, controversies and personal tragedies. Euphemisms do a lot more work in this collection than is warranted. If you'll allow me to make one here myself: while I get that weavings are supposed to allow for a blend of color and material, the best ones depict clear pattern and form, displaying the weaver's mastery of the art. A weaving that's just a muddied jumble is still a weaving, sure, but it's merely functional, not the kind of art you'd expect in a book that presents itself this ambitiously.
Perhaps I am being too hard on this memoir. While the first three-quarters are pretty good, the last quarter just gets weirdly repetitive and anxiously self-indulgent, as if the author knows this isn't a good way to end this book but doesn't know how to make it better (hence the blathering about exercise and the story about biking that even I, as an avid bicyclist, thought hella weird in the context of the rest of the volume.) I did appreciate her support of LGBTQ+ rights, tho thought her injunction to love and forgive ourselves, while coming from a good place, felt like a facile attempt to cap the story instead of engaging properly with concrete ways to change the system that scarred her and her people so indelibly to begin with. Healing is good and necessary, but so is action and prevention, and just shrugging off the racism of white people isn't enough. Education, at least, is a good start, and as an accessible enough guide to the author's Indigenous culture, this is fine. I just feel that it had the potential to be so much more.
Spílexm: A Weaving Of Recovery, Resilience, And Resurgence by Nicola I. Campbell was published September 28 2021 by Highwater Press and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
August 3, 2022
I think this is a good hybrid memoir, but the audiobook was a bit stilted. I loved getting to hear the languages, but the overall cadence of the narrator sounded stilted to me. I learned a lot from this book, especially about the Sto:lo
November 10, 2022
This is a good memoir by a young Native American woman in British Columbia. She shares her stories as an indigenous person and as a scholar who studies her land and her people. It is personal and it is scholarly.
August 29, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. I listened to the audiobook and the reader’s voice was beautiful. I don’t know if I would have liked it as much reading it. There were too many words that I wouldn’t have been able to understand or figure out the pronunciation. But in the author’s voice it was lovely.
August 25, 2022
Definitely 5 stars, but that's for the audiobook. I don't know how I would have read a text version. Powerful beautiful writing.
April 20, 2025
Audiobook is a must
November 20, 2021
Astonishing. Fierce. Honest.
This reads like a MFA thesis project, with all the experimental forms, but it also reads like a very honest, raw reflection of what it means to be Indigenous in Canada. She uses letters, nonfiction narrative, memoirs, and poetry to tell her story of struggle...from a teen who abuses substances and is attacked to a PhD candidate, using her voice and poetry to share her recovery and her heritage.
I don't even intend to do the book justice here. I'm going to say, READ this. Now.
One of the things I so appreciated in this book is Campbell's dedication to the ancient languages of her heritage. And the community-building customs she participates in. How she weaves them into her very modern life. I know Indigenous peoples are losing both their languages and their customs in our world, and I appreciate Campbell's dedication to her heritage.
READ THIS BOOK.
This reads like a MFA thesis project, with all the experimental forms, but it also reads like a very honest, raw reflection of what it means to be Indigenous in Canada. She uses letters, nonfiction narrative, memoirs, and poetry to tell her story of struggle...from a teen who abuses substances and is attacked to a PhD candidate, using her voice and poetry to share her recovery and her heritage.
I don't even intend to do the book justice here. I'm going to say, READ this. Now.
One of the things I so appreciated in this book is Campbell's dedication to the ancient languages of her heritage. And the community-building customs she participates in. How she weaves them into her very modern life. I know Indigenous peoples are losing both their languages and their customs in our world, and I appreciate Campbell's dedication to her heritage.
READ THIS BOOK.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews