Wounded Warriors: A Time for Healing
as told to Doyle Arborgast
Overview
FROM A READER AT BN.COM
A reviewer, 37 year old student from Minnesota, September 5, 2000,
Healing...
A must read for those in recovery of drugs and alcoholism. Very spiritual and easy to understand. Gives an understanding of what Native Americans have had to go through growing up and living on the reservations and the issues that are involved. (Sexual abuse, domestic abuse, alcohol and drug addiction.) A book of hope.
My thoughts
You may as well know that I haven't read this whole book, nor do I intend to. I bought it because I've met a gentleman whose story is in the book. After reading his chapter, I don't think I have the stomach to read the rest of the book. It's some tragic and powerful stuff, and I'm not really up to it right now.
This month I spent a week in South Dakota working for the Tree of Life Ministries. A group of 8 of us from our local church did some building/painting projects on the Boys & Girls Clubs on the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Indian Reservations.
One evening a Native American came to speak with us about the traditions of his people. He spoke at length about the Medicine Wheel and all its symbolism, and he invited us to a sweat lodge ceremony. It was a fantastic experience that I enjoyed very, very much.
After sharing that with him, I wanted to hear his story. It's not a pretty story. It's filled with child abuse, extreme alcoholism, robbery, and homelessness. Somehow, someway, he managed to rise above it. It took him almost 40 years to get there on his own but he's been dry ever since. I have great respect for Bluebird, a Native American who rose above his past to pave the future. His story, with 13 others, is in this book.
Favorite Passage
I have none. I'm thrilled that Bluebird made it through the tribuations but there's no joy for me in recounting his struggles to get there. God bless him.
