Living Resistance is an inspiring book which leaves me (as a reader) feeling empowered and with a renewed sense of hope. I appreciate the time Kaitlin has spent in Vermont in particular, reminding me of the universal importance of grounding, both physically and spiritually in place. Although I found myself resonating with the book as a whole, I was drawn closely to the chapters on "Radical Self-Love as Resistance" and "Prayer as Resistance." I appreciated the poetry, art and the final resistance commitment. I feel a renewed sense of purpose in knowing that there are others who care deeply for Mother Earth and are willing to ask difficult questions, trying to cherish our planet and protect our ecosystems. Curtice speaks frankly of colonization and the need for active decolonization and anti-racism. She brings many other intuitive authors to bare on the discussion providing thoughtful quotes and context throughout (so I have a list of additional books to read as well as being reminded of some of my favorites). The book is somewhat sequential, divided into the realms of personal, communal, ancestral and integral--- this order and organization I found quite helpful. Kaitlin continues "falling more in love with people and with words," (p. 39) and for this I am grateful and hope to follow suit!

This was my first book by the author, and I am glad I "found" her. It's is a book to keep, to periodically review and rethink about caring for my physical and psychic health and that of the community around me. I appreciated the repetition or looping back to knit together the four realms. The book is a call to reflection and action, with a path to guide us. ( )

Katlin Curtice's book is a well-constructed holistic model for incorporating all facets of our life into different realms. These include the Personal Realm, Communal Realm, Ancestral Realm, and Integral Realm. Each of the realms involve various forms of resistance.

As defined, resistance itself is a 'living, breathing being." The Personal Realm was particularly relevant and offered tangible ways to seek wholeness every day. Insights and examples were very helpful.

Of particular interest was the importance of Communal and Ancestral Realms as necessary components of wholeness. This is not intuitive for those who were raised in a culture where individual traits of intelligence and hard work were portrayed as the keys to success.

Kaitlin Curtice has a talent for showing how the multiple facets or Realms come together in an interconnected and vibrant, ever-evolving blend. Some of the examples and analogies worked well, some not so well.

Overall the book has many thought-provoking, insightful lessons and does provide a vision for seeking wholeness every day.

This book was complimentary through Early Reviewer program. ( )

Curtice is known for her writings on the intersection of spirituality and identity and how that shifts throughout our lives. In the introduction to this book she writes that it's grounded in her visions for a better world, both as an Indigenous woman and a seeker of evidence of God or the Sacred. Most of the chapters discuss a specific form of resistance, including art, presence, self-love, childcare, protecting the land, generosity, decolonizing, and prayer. Each one includes a suggestion for commitment that the reader can make related to that topic. ( )

Kaitlin B Curtice gives us a how-to book that’s both formal and informal. There are four connected, overlapping parts. Each part has five chapters, and each chapter is about one form of what she calls Living Resistance. Together they describe her Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness. The language of the book is about the personal, the political, the social, the spiritual, and all the things that can make up a whole system. That’s the formal part.

The book, though, is meant to be read and re-read in whatever order makes sense for us at our time and place in life. That’s the informal part.

And, it’s useful for all of us, those with indigenous roots, and the rest of us, who have so much to learn.

Curtice doesn’t make it easy on us. There are suggested exercises that ask us to think things over. Words are not always defined the first time they are used, like 'deconstruction' and 'decolonization'. But they become clear through examples and context. She wants us to question what we have been told, who and what we think we are. She wants us to learn ways to resist the injustices we see being done against ourselves, against other people, against Mother Earth.

There’s much about ebb and flow, about paths that turn and twist, about growth that comes in spurts and starts, and the ways that we are always becoming, always already almost arriving at some place in our life.

Maybe the most important phrase in the book is in the introduction.
"I am a human being, I am always arriving."
Repeat those words, she says, as a kind of medicine. ( )