Cole-Dai (author of Beneath the Same Stars) mines historical injustices and generational trauma in this startling tour-de-force, inspired by true events. Former Massachusetts professor Simon Richter is nearing the end of his life and suffering from crippling dementia—while re-experiencing his mother’s death from decades before, in vivid, heart-wrenching detail as his condition spirals. His mother, Vera, a Dakota woman who was separated from her twin and forced into a boarding school at an early age, was found hanged in an apparent suicide when Simon was only five years old. But with his flashbacks come memories of a darker, more sinister kind, catapulting Simon into a world that no one should have to face.

The injustices that Cole-Dai portrays are rendered with skill, striking the dissonance of America’s Indian boarding schools—including one of the most infamous, in Genoa, Nebraska—against the truths of the Indigenous families that were torn apart in the early 20th century, leaving behind trails of generational trauma that exist to this day. Cole-Dai writes with authority on the racist, inhumane policies that many tried to sweep under the rug, forcing those despicable practices back into the light through the eyes of Vera and her family.

Vera’s cherished clarinet, a tool held dear by her son after her death, is the story’s singing stick, a poignant reminder of Simon’s heritage and his mother’s stolen innocence—and one that becomes especially meaningful as Simon’s mental capabilities diminish. Cole-Dai impeccably plots the trauma in this multigenerational tale, enlightening the role of institutional racism and brutal treatment of America’s Indigenous tribes against the backdrop of a family desperate to preserve their culture. Readers will mourn with Simon, as the aftereffects of that tragedy reverberate through his family for generations. Cole-Dai’s polished, smart storytelling reveals a dark time in American history, weaving threads of music throughout as a tapestry of hope for a brighter future.

Takeaway: Heartrending story of an Indigenous family’s multigenerational trauma.

Comparable Titles: K. Tsianina Lomawaima’s They Called It Prairie Light, Diane Wilson’s The Seed Keeper.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A