Spirit Run

October 1, 2019

Born in Washington State to Mexican immigrant parents, Álvarez began packing apples alongside his mother at a young age, won a full scholarship to college, then dropped out to join a Native American/First Nations movement called the Peace and Dignity Journeys, months-long marathons aimed at re-creating connections across a North America that transcend current political borders. Here, Álvarez describes what running the event has taught him about himself and fellow runners and the damage done to their communities by oil extraction, deforestation, and substance abuse, even as he faces fear and hunger, mad motorists and mountain lions to triumph.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 23, 2019
Yakima native Álvarez debuts with a spellbinding narrative of his coming to terms with his place in America today. Álvarez and his parents, undocumented Mexican immigrants, worked in a Washington apple-packing plant and lived in a neighborhood where the American Dream was replaced with what Álvaraz describes as a Raymond Carver–esque “world of loneliness, tarnished relationships, and violence.” While his parents immigrated to give Álvarez a better life, his father memorably tells him to “Never be like me. Like any of this. Get out while you can.” Escape presents itself in the form of an acceptance letter to Whitman College, but he soon feels out of place there as a first-generation Latino student. After dropping out, he flies to British Columbia to join the Peace and Dignity Journeys, a group of about a dozen Native American/First Nations runners who have embarked on an epic, 6,000-mile trek from Alaska to Panama. Together, they sprint through lands that were stolen from their ancestors, encountering mountain lions, stone-throwing motorcyclists, and more danger and turbulence along the four-month slog. In electric prose, Álvarez writes of returning home and forging a new connection with the land and its communities: “I grow excited at the thought of becoming reacquainted with my relatives that are the land and the trees.” This literary tour de force beautifully combines outdoor adventure with a sharp take on immigration.

January 1, 2020
A swift-moving lope across the continent, courtesy of runner and debut memoirist Álvarez. Born in Washington state to Mexican immigrants, the author faced a future of working in a fruit warehouse with his parents, "my dreams of ever leaving Yakima ending here." He adds, "I learned that I was poor, monolingual, and from a struggling family living the sort of day-to-day life that had no clear end in sight." Escape came in the form of an invitation to take part in a run, organized by Native American activists, that would follow a course from Alaska to Panama, where the runners would meet other runners who had come north from Tierra del Fuego, all stopping at Native American communities along the way. It was a six-month commitment to a hard project conceived by a group called Peace and Dignity Journeys, born as an offshoot of César Chávez's United Farm Workers. With names like Pacquiao, Trigger, and Chula Pepper, the mostly 30-something people Álvarez ran with were diligent and hardworking, though there were the inevitable personality clashes (" 'Whatever you do, stay away from that guy, ' Cheeto warns me. 'Dude's not well, ' he writes of one loose cannon). Almost everyone had traveled a hard path through addiction, poverty, and alienation. For his part, the author harbored a deep well of doubt about whether he could pull off so formidable a challenge, especially when he fell down while nearing the Mexican border and resolved not to appear too injured so as to be allowed to continue. Running, he discovered, has a positive, spirit-affirming dimension that he, who had always associated running with running away from someone or something, had not known before, giving an immediate connection to the land--and allowing him a part in a significant journey even as "the world that we had put on pause was beginning to move again." A thoughtful first book that should inspire others to lace up their running shoes and get moving.

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from February 1, 2020
Like many memoirs about running, this one describes a journey of self-discovery. Spirit Run is an eloquently written memoir by a young man straddling the world of his Mexican immigrant parents in the migrant-worker community of Yakima, Washington, and the mainstream society that beckons after he receives a full-ride scholarship to college. Not unlike many first-generation minority students, he struggles with the transition. While attending a student-activist conference and workshop on Native American spirituality, he learns about a 6,000-mile relay run from Alaska to the Panama Canal called the Peace and Dignity Journey. This spiritual-prayer run takes place every four years and celebrates Indigenous people and the breaking down of barriers. �lvarez drops out of college to join the group endurance run. He traverses mountains and remote stretches of land, challenging his mental and physical abilities. This is a powerful American coming-of-age story about a Mexican American who seeks to embrace his heritage while forging his own path forward. Certain to make a lasting impression on readers across generations and backgrounds, all of whom will be inspired by the young �lvarez.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

October 1, 2019

Born in Washington State to Mexican immigrant parents, �lvarez began packing apples alongside his mother at a young age, won a full scholarship to college, then dropped out to join a Native American/First Nations movement called the Peace and Dignity Journeys, months-long marathons aimed at re-creating connections across a North America that transcend current political borders. Here, �lvarez describes what running the event has taught him about himself and fellow runners and the damage done to their communities by oil extraction, deforestation, and substance abuse, even as he faces fear and hunger, mad motorists and mountain lions to triumph.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 10, 2020

�lvarez presents an extraordinary debut memoir about participating in Peace and Dignity Journeys (PDJ), which honor indigenous peoples in North, Central, and South America. Running and walking has grown as a form of healing, respecting, and organizing action on Native cultural rights in recent decades, and the author, as a 19-year-old son of working-class Mexican immigrants, made the decision to participate in 2014. Here, �lvarez records where and when he walked and ran, discusses his complex and at times chaotic interactions with other runners and organizers, his growing awareness of the land thorough the various people he meets, and his own sense of identity.

VERDICT The luminous writing of this well-crafted memoir seems as much a form of prayer and self-discovery as the marathon itself. Recommended for not only its appeal to long-distance runners, but also its contribution to the literature of modern social justice.--Nathan Bender, Cody, WY

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2020
A swift-moving lope across the continent, courtesy of runner and debut memoirist �lvarez. Born in Washington state to Mexican immigrants, the author faced a future of working in a fruit warehouse with his parents, "my dreams of ever leaving Yakima ending here." He adds, "I learned that I was poor, monolingual, and from a struggling family living the sort of day-to-day life that had no clear end in sight." Escape came in the form of an invitation to take part in a run, organized by Native American activists, that would follow a course from Alaska to Panama, where the runners would meet other runners who had come north from Tierra del Fuego, all stopping at Native American communities along the way. It was a six-month commitment to a hard project conceived by a group called Peace and Dignity Journeys, born as an offshoot of C�sar Ch�vez's United Farm Workers. With names like Pacquiao, Trigger, and Chula Pepper, the mostly 30-something people �lvarez ran with were diligent and hardworking, though there were the inevitable personality clashes (" 'Whatever you do, stay away from that guy, ' Cheeto warns me. 'Dude's not well, ' he writes of one loose cannon). Almost everyone had traveled a hard path through addiction, poverty, and alienation. For his part, the author harbored a deep well of doubt about whether he could pull off so formidable a challenge, especially when he fell down while nearing the Mexican border and resolved not to appear too injured so as to be allowed to continue. Running, he discovered, has a positive, spirit-affirming dimension that he, who had always associated running with running away from someone or something, had not known before, giving an immediate connection to the land--and allowing him a part in a significant journey even as "the world that we had put on pause was beginning to move again." A thoughtful first book that should inspire others to lace up their running shoes and get moving.

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.