Actual Rating 3.5

This work is a collection of essays written by an indigenous American woman who is a member of the Coast Salish tribe, who is queer, and who is unapologetically punk.

The topics of these essays range from the author discovering how to balance her past and negative events while maintaining her cultural identity and her family ties, to being a Native punk, to being condemned for cultural appropriation when it’s her own culture. It also included trying to navigate your anger, being told you don’t “look the part,” how the Little Mermaid influenced her as a child, and how the arrival of covid in the U.S. changed certain things for the author.

Chief Seattle and his speech are a common theme throughout this work as the author is from the same area. I enjoyed how this was used as a somewhat unifying theme throughout the work and how the author identified with the past in this way. I also enjoyed how deeply personal these essays were, but how well the author was able to analyze and think about these events in a way that was meaningful.

After finishing this, I almost felt like I’d missed something with this read, some reason for why the essays were arranged the way they were or why these certain topics were included while others were barely mentioned and glossed over. I did some looking, and realized the author published an autobiography in 2022 but wasn’t ready to delve into every topic deeply in that book. This collection of essays seems to have been published to fill in some of the gaps left in her autobiography. It does make me wish I’d known this before, as I would have read the autobiography before this work.

If you’re interested in essays by an indigenous author that explores themes of her personal life including trauma, sexuality, identity, healing, relationships, and family, then this is certainly worth checking out. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Insightful and tender, LaPointe's wide-ranging essay collection is sure to appeal to all kinds of readers, but especially any who love memoirs read by the author,

Thank you so much Netgalley and the publisher for the ALC of Thunder Song. THis was my first book by Sasha Lapointe. I was blown away from the very beginning of this book. It is amazing. I finished it in a couple of days. I will be buying myself a physical copy of the book because as I was listening to it, I knew there were so many quotes that I wanted to highlight. It had such beautiful writing.

What really stood out for me was just how much I could relate to what Sasha Lapointe went through growing up. I think many BIPOC readers will be able to relate on how it feels to grow up in a mainly white place. How it feels to have to deal with the racist microagressions. As a kid you don't even realize what is happening.

Highly recommended!! A solid 5 stars from me!

Powerful stories and essays, a great piece of work that I'm happy to see in the world. I'll be recommending this to many people

I didn't get a chance to finish the audiobook before it expired, but the book is very good, and I liked what I heard of the narration. Some essays are stronger than others - the more personal ones were my favorites, especially the one about tulips, and the one about dirt and dirtiness.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an advance review copy in exchange for my honest review!

I deeply enjoyed this compilation of reflective, powerful stories. There is beauty, pain, and so much honesty seeped throughout the pieces that make up Thunder Song. I would highly recommend this collection

This beautiful collection of thoughts, poems, goals, and memories will resonate with all readers who are lucky enough to open their hearts to it.

This memoir in essays is an important read, generally recommended for public libraries. It's not an easy read or a fun read, but touches on many topics-- domestic violence, abuse, addiction, gender identity and sexuality, both while growing up and during 2020 and afterward-- that will give book groups plenty to talk about.

I didn't have a completely immersive experience with this eAudiobook: the narration is provided by the author, giving listeners a chance to listen not only to her unique story but her unique and literal voice. Because audiobook narration is not this author's day job, there were some parts that I found distracting. Listeners will have the best experience if approaching this eAudio with that in mind.

Highly recommended for all public libraries, especially in the PNW, in other areas with larger Native populations, or any libraries looking to add the voices and stories of Indigenous authors.

eARC from NetGalley.

"To honor greif, one must first acknowledge loss."

I have a copy of @sashalapointe 's memoir RED PAINT and plan to pick it up this year, so imagine my surprise to see this gorgeously bold cover on Netgalley for a book of essays by LaPointe! And I was delighted when I got the email saying I was approved. I live in the Pacific Northwest which is land that was/is traditionally stewarded by the Coast Salish who are LaPointe's people, so I knew I wanted to read what she had to say, even if I knew there would be some hard truths for me to sit with as a white woman occupying this land. This is why the above quote from this collection was heavy and liberating all at once - we must first acknowledge anything at all before we can grieve, learn from, grow from or change our perspective of it.

The essays in LaPointe's collection THUNDER SONG span the gamut in subject matter from reflections of growing up in the PNW to thought-provoking traditional stories from her family and heritage to punk rock band escapades to deep personal and generational grief and trauma. She sheds vulnerability regarding her interpersonal relationships, personal journey to understanding her sexuality, navigating the American medical system while Indian, and the very real epidemic of indifference toward the lives of indigenous women through the colonizer gaze.

I identified with a lot in these essays including LaPointe's love of the natural wonders of the PNW, her struggle with American food culture and finding her way back to nourishing her body, her growing understanding of her own queerness throughout her life. I also found I had a lot to think about after listening to the author pour out her perspective, experience and knowledge as she performed the audio herself. This was a pleasure to listen to and yes, while at times uncomfortable, well worth the journey.

I find all history, even the grim parts, are worth sharing and knowing. It is the best way to learn how to do better and change our ways in the future. ❓Do you know much about the history of the area that you live in❓

Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher, @counterpointpress for the audio-ARC.

💚SMASHBOT💚

4.5 rounded up to 5
I am not someone that normally gravitates towards reading essays but knew I had to request when I saw LaPointe’s on Netgalley and I was not disappointed. These essays were extremely impactful. The way LaPointe was able to share such a raw portrayal of her struggling with her indigeneity in a Eurocentric society was fantastic. The essays cover a range of topics including queerness, veganism, racism and so much more. I haven’t read any of LaPointe’s other work but will be seeking it out now.

Thunder Song: Essays (Hardcover)
by Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe
These essays are wonderful, they show the remarkable understanding of native and historical view points, clashing with colonization. The essays are very in-depth, and show a truthfulness, that is at times hard to swallow. It is a remarkable tale of oppression, restitution and omnipotence of the author. Her/ their struggle with sexuality, with race, with purpose is inspiring. I found that the language, and verbiage is the hard to part to swallow, more then their story. The repetitive accusation in the term colonization, the rhetoric of neglect and persecution make it hard sometimes to listen to. As a white woman, I had to step back on the defense of my nature, its not an accusation but an explanation, unfortunately English has a limited scope on the words, making their use offensive, when not wholly intended.
She/ they have lived through a traumatic time, their history has layers of trauma, from the present, and from the past that affect how the world is seen. The world is not black and white, but shades of gray, that can cause it to be more shadowed and dark at first glance.
This is a great book for discussion in high school, on view point. This book has a voice of native activism, on environmental activism, but also for the LTGBQ+ platform. Even though its hard to read, and very blunt, if the reader takes time to look at it, most of these stories are universal, race and divides not with standing, many families, many cultures have the same struggle world wide, which the author acknowledges by the end of the book.
I need to find the reddit request for native voice authors again and give that person this title.

Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe knocks it out of the park once again. I devoured her memoir (as a physical, hard-cover book in my hands), and so it was a real treat to listen to this essay collection as an audiobook, which she narrates. These essays are a stunning and raw portrayal of the author wrestling with her indigineity in a Eurocentric society that tells her she’s not enough, and this carries into her experiences with race, veganism, and queerness.

I eagerly requested this audiobook since her memoir was one of my favorites, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. She is certainly a must-read author for me!


Disclaimer: I received an audiobook ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thunder Song was an excellent listen. I loved the author's narration. I appreciated the various stories about her upbringing, going back and forth to Washington and the reservation, and the difficulty of being vegan while still honoring her ancestral food. I liked the short interludes as well. By the end of the collection, I certainly want to seek out LaPointe's other writings.

Incredible, vulnerable, a real look into the author’s intersecting identities as queer and Native. I really appreciated hearing the acknowledgments read at the end as well!
I personally appreciated a lot of the sections relating to the queer punk scene.
Definitely would recommend!!

Wow! What an absolutely breathtaking collection of essays. After reading this, I feel like I can understand the author on a deeper level. A way that feels like an absolute privilege.

Listening to Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe tell her story in this collection of essays felt like sitting down with a friend on a rainy night and coming to yourself the next morning as a changed person.

This a mix of many things: Seattle (SiɁaƛ) history, growing up on a reservation as a biracial kid, finding your artistic voice, struggles with Native healthcare and abortion providers, protests and the pandemic.
LaPointe is open about her experiences about people thinking they can be racist towards Indigenous people because they don't perceive her as one of them, her life as a runaway teen who ended up in an abusive relationship and her relationship to nature and the place her ancestors called home but has been irrevocably changed since the white settlers arrived. As both a queer and disabled person, as well as a mixed Indigenous woman, she offers so much to the continued conversation about current lives in America and how much of it is shaped by things beyond your control. It's also grounded in the physical world - descriptions of nature are everywhere and Seattle feels almost like its own character.

Just like a real conversation, she jumps from memories to current issues to political struggles and back to personal experiences. The essays weave a tapestry of who LaPointe is that invite the reader in to see where all the threads come from and continue on to - it feels like a living document, LaPointe just sharing snapshots of her life that is certainly not yet over. Especially the stories about her great-grandmother show how clearly her storytelling has also shaped the form of this book.

Wow, I was incredibly blown away by this collection of essays by Sasha. I so rarely see myself reflected in books -- fiction or non -- as a mixed Indigenous queer person. Sasha's stories were so incredibly told, and I found myself having to pause and reflect upon each. I'm really thankful that voices like hers are being published, because people, settler and Indigenous alike, need to hear it. The essays cover a range of topics, queerness, colorism, taking up space in predominantly white spaces, love, food, music, and so much more. And the book does so in a way that will enrich the minds of people who read it, no matter what their background is or what their experiences with Indigeneity may be. I can't wait to reread these essays in cycles for the rest of my life <3

✨ Review ✨ Thunder Song: Essays by Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe

Thanks to Counterpoint, Dreamscape Media, and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

This book was incredible! I don't always love memoirs or essay collections, but the author's storytelling was off-the-charts (you can see where she learned through through her female relatives!) The essays flow together in a way that feels special and continuous like a memoir, despite being written as essays.

Things I loved:
1. The author's Queer and Indigenous perspectives and the ways she brings these different facets of her identity together
2. Her punk background and aesthetic shape the stories and style
3. Stories about salmon and the environment and decolonizing her diet
4. Stories about the women in her family and their different storytelling specialties
5. Her reflections on Coast Salish identity and experience -- the importance of the persistence of language and culture and community in the 21st century.
6. There's a section about the start of COVID and storytelling and rest that really spoke to me. When considering the old ways and her feel that she needed to be working during COVID like it was a pre-COVID era, her therapist asked her to consider " do you think a basket weaver would be weaving when there is a mountain lion circling?"
7. the author also narrated the audiobook, which I love because it brings so much added emotion and inflection to the story which is her own.

This is definitely a great way to engage with Indigenous perspectives and queer identity, to listen and to learn!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: essay colection, memoir
Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
Pub Date: March 5, 2024

Another beautifully written book by the author. The prose is incredibly poetical and moving. Also this cover is STUNNING.
I’m excited to hear her this week at our local community reading event!
Thank you NetGalley for the audio ARC!

This was an eye opening great read in the most uncomfortable but necessary way. The writing style is so raw and beautiful, you can’t possibly ignore what you’re reading. I don’t know what else to say except that I wish everyone would read even one essay from this collection and have an open mind.