{"product_id":"9781646220533","title":"Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America's Stolen Land","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW \u003c\/i\u003eEDITORS' CHOICE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe son of working-class Mexican immigrants flees a life of labor in fruit-packing plants to run in a Native American marathon from Canada to Guatemala in this \"stunning memoir that moves to the rhythm of feet, labor, and the many landscapes of the Americas\" (Catriona Menzies-Pike, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Long Run\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGrowing up in Yakima, Washington, Noé Álvarez worked at an apple–packing plant alongside his mother, who “slouched over a conveyor belt of fruit, shoulder to shoulder with mothers conditioned to believe this was all they could do with their lives.” A university scholarship offered escape, but as a first–generation Latino college–goer, Álvarez struggled to fit in.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt nineteen, he learned about a Native American\/First Nations movement called the Peace and Dignity Journeys, epic marathons meant to renew cultural connections across North America. He dropped out of school and joined a group of Dené, Secwépemc, Gitxsan, Dakelh, Apache, Tohono O’odham, Seri, Purépecha, and Maya runners, all fleeing difficult beginnings. Telling their stories alongside his own, Álvarez writes about a four–month–long journey from Canada to Guatemala that pushed him to his limits. He writes not only of overcoming hunger, thirst, and fear—dangers included stone–throwing motorists and a mountain lion—but also of asserting Indigenous and working–class humanity in a capitalist society where oil extraction, deforestation, and substance abuse wreck communities. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRunning through mountains, deserts, and cities, and through the Mexican territory his parents left behind, Álvarez forges a new relationship with the land, and with the act of running, carrying with him the knowledge of his parents’ migration, and—against all odds in a society that exploits his body and rejects his spirit—the dream of a liberated future.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"This book is not like any other out there. You will see this country in a fresh way, and you might see aspects of your own soul. A beautiful run.\" —Luís Alberto Urrea, author of \u003ci\u003eThe House of Broken Angels\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"An anthem to the landscape that holds our identities and traumas, and its profound power to heal them.\" —Francisco Cantú, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Line Becomes a River\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Catapult","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42533740347453,"sku":"9781646220533","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0603\/0838\/9949\/files\/9781646220533_p0.jpg?v=1771564374","url":"https:\/\/www.tatteredcover.mom\/products\/9781646220533","provider":"Tattered Cover","version":"1.0","type":"link"}