Products tagged with 'memoir'

11-oz. capacity
Dishwasher- & microwave-safe
Ceramic
White exterior
Ships directly from manufacturer

11-oz. capacity
Dishwasher- & microwave-safe
Ceramic
White exterior
Ships directly from manufacturer

11-oz. capacity
Dishwasher- & microwave-safe
Ceramic
White exterior
Ships directly from manufacturer

In sincere, from-the-heart storytelling, The Shining Hands of My Ponca Ancestors depicts the life of a young, contemporary Ponca, who—with the help of friends, relatives, spirits, and ancestors—is learning what is really possible for him and his tribe and how dramatically different that is from the dominant cultural messaging of his youth. An account of inspiration, ancestor intervention, the indestructible Indigenous core of his Native people, and the immense beauty of an ongoing way of life, Shining Hands is rife with meaning for Native and non-Native readers alike. Viewed through his personal life, Shining Hands  is a prayer for the young that they may see their own powerful potential, too.

“Tough but Fair originated from my twenty-eight years of experience working with troubled juveniles and convicted felons. On December 1, 1972, I was appointed Deputy Warden of the North Dakota State Penitentiary. The prison was on the verge of being out of control daily…inadequately funded and staffed by untrained, aging correctional officers; uneducated managerial staff; and one qualified social worker. The combination of these factors led to assaults on staff, improper discipline, a rapid decline in the facility structure, and extreme disrepair of the utilities and services. A new warden was appointed, and he began to organize a plan to regain control of the inmate population, institute programs that would divert the inmates away from criminal behavior within the prison, and build respect for the staff. These challenges led me on a journey that was intellectually, physically, and spiritually transformative. It was the greatest challenge of my life.” - Winston E. Satran

“You’re not to think you are anything special.”

Rule #1: Laws of Jante, the Unofficial Rules of Norway

Alt for One, One for Alt: A Devastating Saga of a North Dakota Farm Kid documents the 21,000 miles Jeffrey Karl Johnson traveled in ten weeks to ten Norwegian cities, all while haunted by both his ancestral Norwegian family and his North Dakotan birth family. Why did he dare travel to the Motherland? He was an earnest contestant on the highly rated, highly expensive, and highly campy reality TV show Alt for Norge, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do to win the big prize of meeting his Norwegian relatives for the first time. The true prize, he would discover, was bigger and more dangerous than expected: the journey itself. The path into his Norwegian heritage, and his slow crawl back, came with a cost—and a reward.

As the world feels increasingly chaotic, Jeffrey Karl Johnson became convinced that studying Norwegian culture offers unexpected insight into how societies survive—and recover from—deeply ingrained self-punishing systems of thought. Alt for One, One for Alt explores Norway, North Dakota, Minnesota, Johnson's family, and the ways individuals and cultures wrestle with inherited patterns of abuse and authoritarianism. Along the way, he became an unlikely contestant on the Norwegian reality show Alt for Norge—essentially, Survivor for Norwegian grandmothers—where Norwegian Americans compete for the chance to meet lost family in Norway. While he's no fan of reality TV, the show became a powerful lens for examining both Norwegian culture and his own family history.