From These Ashes Tamela J Ritter Books
Download As PDF : From These Ashes Tamela J Ritter Books
“This tale of suffering, separation, redemption and healing is not just engaging—it is riveting… Tamela Ritter has written an important and touching book.” Dan Verner, Prince William Living
The first time my mother tried to kill me, I was six.
This stunning contemporary Native American novel, From These Ashes chronicles the journey of two siblings looking for “home,” while searching for themselves, each other, their heritage and their destiny.
In a center for cult recovery in Phoenix, Arizona, 16-year-old Native American Naomi West refuses to talk; instead she writes — about her life, about her brother, about the prophecy, and about the fire that nearly destroyed it all.
Meanwhile, her half-white brother, Tim West, awakes alone in a forest without memories of his past, only an unconscious urge to head west. It is on a Cascade mountaintop where he once again gets too close to a fire, and what starts as a horrifying nightmare wakens him to the truth of his past and a devastating choice that cost him everything.
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Author Tamela J. Ritter said in an interview that she didn’t originally plan to bring her own cultural heritage into From These Ashes, saying of her own grandmother, Naomi, “What I remember is how proud she was of her heritage, how tightly she held onto it.” Ms. Ritter spins a gripping tale of reservation life, featuring realistically drawn characters and the struggle of young people to figure out where they belong in the world, with heartfelt and nuanced writing.
If you love books by Native American authors like Sherman Alexie, Louise Eldritch, and Leslie Marmon Silko, From These Ashes by Tamela J. Ritter is a must-read for your bookshelf that you’ll love to read again and again.
Praise for From These Ashes
“Pick it up if you love Sherman Alexie, stories about Native Americans, family dramas, or even if you love road trips.”“[I] plan to get a paperback copy of From These Ashes so that I can put Ritter on my shelf alongside Alexie and Silko, where her books belong.”
“This is the best book I’ve ever hated reading. It ripped my heart completely out of my chest.”
From These Ashes Tamela J Ritter Books
'From These Ashes' is not the sort of book I would usually pick up. I have strayed away from the coming-of-age section for some years now - not because I'm 'too old' (there is no such thing!) but because I haven't been able to find a story that had the ability to interest me from the get go. I have a short attention span and a low tolerance for boredom.That said, I love cults. I love Native stories. It sounded interesting and I love first novels. I picked it up as something to read while attempting to not fall asleep at work and promptly spent the next five hours staring at my Kindle, forgetting I needed to take a lunch break, and periodically typing "HOLY CRAP" at my friends in AIM about this book.
**MAY CONTAIN MILD SPOILERS**
The characters are REAL. They stand out from the page as their own person, a three dimensional work with individual quirks and secrets. Tim is quiet, mild tempered, desperate for love and acceptance and I seriously just wanted to reach through the machine to hug him. Naomi is a cynical girl who learns how to cope with the problems of her mother and the hurt of her brother, standing up to everything she loves when she feels something is going a step too far. Their mother - my family has a history of drinking and I can tell you she is very well rounded.
The villain of the story has her own reasons, her background, her justifications, and it almost gets to the point where you can understand her, can see WHY she would do these things. Like I said, the characters are human.
First novel or not, Ritter paints a world of color and darkness simultaneously. The unfair lives of the Native people, coping mechanisms, of the different places visited in the book. The world is not kind to those that don't fit into the status quo and she shows how damaging it can be to hurt so badly so young - or old. There is hope, too, sprinkled throughout it and the relationship between Tim and Naomi is beautiful. They love each other completely and even when the sky falls down around them, they do what they can to support each other.
I highly recommend this for anyone looking for an excellent coming-of-age tale, or wanting a story of sibling love, cults, of overcoming adversity, of trying to find yourself.
Five stars and I look forward to the next book by this author.
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Tags : Amazon.com: From These Ashes (9780615777535): Tamela J. Ritter: Books,Tamela J. Ritter,From These Ashes,Battered Suitcase Press,0615777538,Cultural Heritage,FICTION Cultural Heritage,Fiction - General,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
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From These Ashes Tamela J Ritter Books Reviews
This book is nothing short of gripping--I missed my stop on the way home while caught up in it.
The stories of a brother and sister are told side-by-side and provide context to one another despite the distance of time and space between them. I found myself trying to solve the main puzzle--where is Tim? how did he end up in the woods? why does he have amnesia?--and failing utterly, which just goes to show how clever the author is!
The examination of reservation life, family violence, youth homelessness, and the seeming-safety of a cult are all done sensitively and with several dimensions. Ritter never loses sight of the fact that kids and young people adapt to what they experience, and that their interpretations of events aren't what outsiders would assume.
A wonderful, deep read. I highly recommend it.
I am Choctaw and found this story very heart warming. I was born in Oklahoma and my father was ashamed to be Indian
I loved how each character's side of the story unfolds in their own words but also fits together thus giving you the full picture. Being a resident of some the areas mentioned in the book, made me more invested in the characters and enjoyed the journey that Tim West took on his path of remembrance. Naomi West is a strong girl who becomes an even stronger woman which is definitely difficult considering the path she has taken. Even the people that Tim encounters on his trek have compelling stories, especially the abused housewife with a distinct hatred of Indians as well as the guilt stricken truck driver. Great imagery and the words don't get in the way of the story. A Plus!!!!!!
I had to read a couple of chapters before I really got into this book. Naomi's perspective is written in first person, and Tim's is written in 3rd person, so that was a little odd and took a bit to get used to, but once you start reading you understand why it is this way.
This book is so full of emotion, discussing abuse, rituals on the modern day Indian reservations. Also gives insight into racial profiling.
Well worth reading.
Native lit is very much a thing with me. I read a lot of it, seek it out, and try to collect paperback copies because I like to have those books represented on my shelves. While I read From These Ashes as an ebook, I fully intend to buy a paperback, so I can put Ritter alongside Alexie and Silko where her work belongs.
I am this book's target audience. I know a lot of the places it goes and, while Tim and Naomi's stories are their own, they're part of a greater narrative with which I was already familiar. That made the book very compelling for me because it's so honest. Ritter's characters always ring true, as does the world she depicts. It's a cold, despairing world at times, but there's a lot of hope and promise, too, which makes the whole thing very beautiful even when it hurts. There really are no villains, just people who are better and people who are worse and a lot of people who are just trying to find something that fits.
The writing is heartfelt and nuanced. I never felt like I was wading through the narrative or getting bogged down. It is definitely not a children's novel - there's violence and sex and substance abuse and profanity, as you'd expect from a writer who doesn't shy away from reality. While the novel is fiction, my feeling as I got deeper into the story was that I was reading about life. That is always a sign of great writing.
I'll be honest while I unquestionably give this book five stars, I know not everyone will have my profound emotional response. I definitely recommend From These Ashes to anyone looking for a good read, but your mileage may vary. If you like Native lit, road trip stories, coming of age stories, or stories from the American west, I'm sure you'll love it. Even if the world Ritter depicts is totally removed from your experience, it'll be an enthralling read. And if you, like me, know something of the cloth from which this story was cut? You'll be so glad you picked it up.
'From These Ashes' is not the sort of book I would usually pick up. I have strayed away from the coming-of-age section for some years now - not because I'm 'too old' (there is no such thing!) but because I haven't been able to find a story that had the ability to interest me from the get go. I have a short attention span and a low tolerance for boredom.
That said, I love cults. I love Native stories. It sounded interesting and I love first novels. I picked it up as something to read while attempting to not fall asleep at work and promptly spent the next five hours staring at my , forgetting I needed to take a lunch break, and periodically typing "HOLY CRAP" at my friends in AIM about this book.
**MAY CONTAIN MILD SPOILERS**
The characters are REAL. They stand out from the page as their own person, a three dimensional work with individual quirks and secrets. Tim is quiet, mild tempered, desperate for love and acceptance and I seriously just wanted to reach through the machine to hug him. Naomi is a cynical girl who learns how to cope with the problems of her mother and the hurt of her brother, standing up to everything she loves when she feels something is going a step too far. Their mother - my family has a history of drinking and I can tell you she is very well rounded.
The villain of the story has her own reasons, her background, her justifications, and it almost gets to the point where you can understand her, can see WHY she would do these things. Like I said, the characters are human.
First novel or not, Ritter paints a world of color and darkness simultaneously. The unfair lives of the Native people, coping mechanisms, of the different places visited in the book. The world is not kind to those that don't fit into the status quo and she shows how damaging it can be to hurt so badly so young - or old. There is hope, too, sprinkled throughout it and the relationship between Tim and Naomi is beautiful. They love each other completely and even when the sky falls down around them, they do what they can to support each other.
I highly recommend this for anyone looking for an excellent coming-of-age tale, or wanting a story of sibling love, cults, of overcoming adversity, of trying to find yourself.
Five stars and I look forward to the next book by this author.
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