A Council of Dolls: A Novel | 
pickThis is a must read. Told from the perspective of the dolls of different generations within a family of Indigenous women, this novel is about “Indian” boarding schools and the damage they have done and continue to do. It is about generational trauma and the healing power of ancestral wisdom. Community is powerful. Identity is powerful. Respect is powerful. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickSo much injustice and death, but stories that we need to hear and never forget. I like the perspective of the dolls POV, it‘s very unique and adds a layer of depth that really brings the stories to life and adds more context to the times. The one doll kind of gives Chucky vibes though.
Book #105 in 2024
pickOoh this was good. It tells the story of three generations of Dakhota women, who each have a special doll as a companion, and how they survive the trauma that came from colonization and subsequent Indian Boarding Schools, either directly or as a descendant. Cannot wait to see how the book group reacts! #ownvoices
pickThis was an excellent historical fiction/magical realism story about 4 generations of Dakhota girls & their dolls. The first 2 generations of girls are forcibly placed in “Indian Schools” & navigate the disturbing experience with help from their dolls. The next 2 girls & their dolls have generational trauma to live with as a result. Wonderfully written!
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
📚 Read for book club
📚 Taken with a mini Cabbage Patch doll from my childhood
https://youtu.be/pW4CyuPfqF0?si=X09nU7lPHFETrFiI
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#PeopleApril
Introduction
Mystery guest
Week in Review
Patreon update
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1 by Beth Brower
A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power
Strange Flowers by Donal Ryan
Mirror of the Darkest Night by Mahasweta Devi
pickThis novel about intergenerational trauma by Dakota Sioux author Mona Susan Power has an effective structure: we first meet Sissy as a child in the 1960s, then go back in time to when her mother was a child, then further back to her grandmother‘s teen years at Carlisle Residential School, then return to Sissy as an adult. The therapy-speak in the final part isn‘t to my taste but otherwise I can see why this is on the Carol Shields Prize longlist.
Writing this book was a healing endeavour. May it support the healing of others.
—from the Author‘s Note.
All beings are capable of providing love medicine.
“You can put ideas on and off just like moccasins. You can wear them and set them aside, hold on to those you find meaningful … someone telling you that you‘re wrong and only they know the truth. Such boasting is evidence of a fool, perhaps a dangerous one.”
pickAn emotional read - heartrending yet hopeful. Much of this novel was taken from Power‘s own experience and that of her family which gives the writing an authenticity and vulnerability. A book about trauma and its reverberations across generations, yes, but also a book about healing. Look forward to discussing with my IRL book club!
bailedI think three hours is enough. I wasn't at all interested in the way this was told. It just felt really simple and unrewarding.
(This is on the NBA longlist for literature. So clearly some readers like this. But, for me, I‘m now done with those judges.)
pickThis book follows 3 generations of Lakota/Dakota women and the traumas experienced by each, layered into their multigenerational trauma. Each has a doll, which play meaningful parts in the story. I‘m not usually a fan of child narrators, but this really works. My only complaint is that I wanted a little more exploration of one of the characters, but it is nonetheless very good.
NBA longlist, fiction
pickThis is about women overcoming generational trauma through the love and sacrifices of their ancestors and their own power as indigenous women. A very moving story and moving history lesson. The dolls give so much to these women, they even rescue them in some cases.
