It's been a very productive day here at the hobbit-hole. I managed to get my big batch of marinara made (recipe will be featured in my next Foodie Friday post) and made a large shepherd's pie. Plus, I made chicken souvlaki pitas with greek salad and homemade tzatziki for dinner. I also dealt with a lot of little things around the house, including some laundry and playtime with a very active toddler. The only thing on my to do list that I didn't get done today was cleaning the bathroom. But it will still be there tomorrow.
And now, I'm exhausted. :)
I read about Naduah for the first time when I was 13 years old. It was the first time I read what I considered a 'grown up' book. My bio-mom was always into anything about native North American culture, and Ride the Wind was right up her alley. I picked it up one day when I didn't have a book of my own handy, and was sucked in.
Naduah (means 'keeps warm with us') was born Cynthia Ann Parker, and was kidnapped from her family's fort in north-central Texas by the Comanche in the spring of 1836, when she was about nine years old. She was ultimately adopted by a childless couple (and this aspect of the story took on a whole new meaning for me when I read it again a couple of years ago), and raised as one of the People.
The story follows her as she grows up, and eventually falls in love with the very man who kidnapped her. She married him, he became the chief of his own tribe, and they had three children, one of whom was Quannah, the last free chief of the Comanche people.
Then, after almost 25 years of living as a Comanche, she is 'rescued' and returned to her Parker relatives. She tries repeatedly to escape back to her Comanche family, but ultimately she dies, mourning the People she loved.
All of the above is historical fact but around the facts, the author, Lucia St. Clare Robson, weaves such an incredible story of what makes a family, love, and the end of an era. It is a story I have to have in my rotation every few years. When I first read it, almost 25 years ago, I loved the romance of it... but now, as an adult, and as someone who has had to take a hard look at what actually defines a family, I love the relationships between Naduah and her adopted family. Her relationships, particularly with her mother and grandmother, show that you don't need to have DNA in common to be a family.
Is there a book from your younger years that has come to mean more to you now as an adult?
What a bitter-sweet story - such a shame the lady didn't get to make her own choices!
ReplyDeleteTwo of my cousins are adopted, they're not biologically connected in any way, but they seem to be like as two peas in a pod. When I see the love and joy between them and their adoptive parents, I'm not surprised they declined to seek out their 'birth' families. They have a bond that trancends blood-ties.
Thank you for such a thought-provoking post - happy A-Z'ing!
SueH I refuse to go quietly!
Twitter - @Librarymaid
The Ramayana and Mahabharat...I read them as comic books as a kid...and now I keep mulling over their hidden meanings, sub-plots....lessons and all.
ReplyDeleteThen there is a book called Frost in May that someone gave me. When I read it the first time, I was far too young to understand what the lady went through. The second time I read it, I was older and understood it better. And even now, I sometimes think about it.