A Michelle Obama Reach Higher Fall 2022 reading list pick
A Library Journal "BEST BOOK OF 2022"
"Aguon's book is for everyone, but he challenges history by placing
indigenous consciousness at the center of his project . . . the most
tender polemic I've ever read."
--Lenika Cruz, The Atlantic
"It's clear [Aguon] poured his whole heart into this slim book . . .
[his] sense of hope, fierce determination, and love for his people and
culture permeates every page."
--Laura Sackton, BookRiot
Part memoir, part manifesto, Chamorro climate activist Julian Aguon's
No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies is a collection of essays on
resistance, resilience, and collective power in the age of climate
disaster; and a call for justice--for everyone, but in particular, for
Indigenous peoples.
In bracing poetry and compelling prose, Aguon weaves together stories
from his childhood in the villages of Guam with searing political
commentary about matters ranging from nuclear weapons to global warming.
Undertaking the work of bearing witness, wrestling with the most
pressing questions of the modern day, and reckoning with the challenge
of truth-telling in an era of rampant obfuscation, he culls from his own
life experiences--from losing his father to pancreatic cancer to working
for Mother Teresa to an edifying chance encounter with Sherman
Alexie--to illuminate a collective path out of the darkness.
A powerful, bold, new voice writing at the intersection of Indigenous
rights and environmental justice, Julian Aguon is entrenched in the
struggles of the people of the Pacific to liberate themselves from
colonial rule, defend their sacred sites, and obtain justice for
generations of harm. In No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies, Aguon
shares his wisdom and reflections on love, grief, joy, and triumph and
extends an offer to join him in a hard-earned hope for a better world.
