OUR VOICE OF FIRE: A MEMOIR OF A WARRIOR RISING by Brandi Morin
Publisher: House of Anansi Press
Publication Date: August 2, 2022
Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir
READ THE SYNOPSIS
A wildfire of a debut memoir by internationally recognized French/Cree/Iroquois journalist Brandi Morin set to transform the narrative around Indigenous Peoples.
Brandi Morin is known for her clear-eyed and empathetic reporting on Indigenous oppression in North America. She is also a survivor of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls crisis and uses her experience to tell the stories of those who did not survive the rampant violence. From her time as a foster kid and runaway who fell victim to predatory men and an oppressive system to her career as an internationally acclaimed journalist, Our Voice of Fire chronicles Morin’s journey to overcome enormous adversity and find her purpose, and her power, through journalism. This compelling, honest book is full of self-compassion and the purifying fire of a pursuit for justice.
My Thoughts
Have you ever had a book that you didn’t intend to read–that you hadn’t even heard about–that somehow comes across your path, and it turns out that it’s amazing? This is totally the case with Our Voice of Fire: A Memoir of a Warrior Rising by Cree/Iroquois/French journalist Brandi Morin.
I had just finished listening to the amazing Fatty Legs by Christy Jordan-Fenton, and when I couldn’t find Jordan-Fenton’s next book on my library app, I somehow stumbled across Our Voice of Fire. I still had a whole pile of work to do and needed something to listen to, so I downloaded it and started listening.
This book was absolutely amazing. At times it was heartbreaking and terrible (as in life events and situations), and at other times it was like a phoenix rising from the ash as Morin exuded strength and determination that literally made me stop to pay attention. This is not a book that you can just casually have on in the background; this is a book that makes you stop and listen. Morin’s telling of growing up with a troubled past only to find a voice in telling the stories of the Indigenous women who faced violence and those who went missing was both powerful and inspirational.
The stories she tells are heartbreaking, sad, and necessary, and yet she narrates this book as if sitting with the reader at the kitchen table over a cup of coffee. Honestly, her narration was amazing. It’s not like this book warranted lots of inflection and drama in its telling, but I really enjoyed that Morin was the narrator. At times she’d laugh under her breath about something she said in her writing, or you’d hear a paper shuffle or a chair shift, and it was very cozy despite the topics discussed.
I would highly, highly recommend listening to this if you want to hear more about the history of Indigenous women (and other Indigenous Peoples) in Canada and how they’ve been treated – and are still treated. I can’t believe that this is a book that might have missed me completely. Our Voice of Fire was well worth the read, and I will recommend this to everyone.
Have you read Our Voice of Fire? What were your thoughts? Did you enjoy it? Let me know in the comments below!
