A powerful story of betrayal and hope based on an Athabascan Indian legend from the upper Yukon River.
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May 25, 2008
Abigail
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A good friend of mine was once aghast to hear that I had given my grandmother a copy of Velma Wallis's Two Old Women for her birthday, inscribed as follows: To Gran, the strongest woman I know, with love on your 90th Birthday, Abby. Apparently the women of her family, regardless of their age, did not like to be thought "old," and it would have been considered an unpardonable breach of good manners for my friend to have given any of her elders a book with such a title. For my part, I wa
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Jan 12, 2012
Roger
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Do you like survival in harsh terrains and areas. Well then Two Old
Women is a great book for you. I personally believe that this book is amazing and nobody should miss the experience of betrayal and survival. This amazing Legend is about an Alaskan tribe on the brink of survival. They are running low on food and supplies so they must let go of their Elderly. The Elderly that they leave behind is Two complaining Old Women who don't even take care of themselves.
The Characters in More...
Women is a great book for you. I personally believe that this book is amazing and nobody should miss the experience of betrayal and survival. This amazing Legend is about an Alaskan tribe on the brink of survival. They are running low on food and supplies so they must let go of their Elderly. The Elderly that they leave behind is Two complaining Old Women who don't even take care of themselves.
The Characters in More...
Jan 26, 2011
Melissa
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While this may have been a smaller book, it was filled with depth. While it looks like a children's book with its pictures and large text, this was found in the non-fiction section and could probably be considered mythology. It's based on an Athabascan Indian legend that the author's mother had passed down to her. The story inspired her so much, that Wallis wanted to put it down to share with others.
Two older women have been abandoned by their tribe and left for dead because they are t More...
Two older women have been abandoned by their tribe and left for dead because they are t More...
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Sep 11, 2009
Kaye
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This story is delightful. The author wrote with such skill that I felt I sat at her feet, while gazing into the embers of glowing fire while she told the tale of these two brave women. She literally took me to this place in her memory. Ms. Wallis makes a valid point in her introductory of this book that the oral histories of our people and families need to be preserved. She also acknowledges the elders of her tribe and gives them respect in her dedication.
I was reading this book whil More...
I was reading this book whil More...
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Jun 28, 2009
Chana
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This is a legend told to a daughter by her mother and it feels like that: that the reader is snuggled down for a bedtime story of power, morals and significance. Two old women, members of a tribe who live up near the Yukon river, are abandoned one cold winter as too burdensome to the tribe when there is not enough to eat. It is a shock but these two women pull together and survive. The book recounts the decision of the tribe and what it cost the chief to make such a decision and how the people o
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Jan 18, 2010
Charlotte
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This is actually a reread and thought of it after reading An Owl Called My Name. It takes place in Alaska before Western Culture invaded the life of native tribes. Faced with a famine, the tribal leaders decide to leave behind the two old ones of the tribe. Realizing that they will not live long if they do nothing, they decide that if they are to die, they will die trying instead of die sitting. They recall a somewhat sheltered area the tribe once stayed in where fish were abundant and pullin
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Jul 27, 2011
Sherrie
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This is another book that has been on list to read for ages. This is a really good book. The writer takes you deep into the heart of Alaska during the bitter cold of Winter. These two women must survive somehow or die. I really liked the characters, Ch'idzigyakk, meaning Chickadee bird, and Sa' meaning Star. They are very determined to live what has happened to them. You can feel the worry, hunger and tiredness that these women go through. I was rooting for them the whole time I read the book. I
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Mar 26, 2011
BoekenTrol
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 05, 2009
Cindy
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The book is based on an Athabascan Indian legend from Alaska. The story has been passed on for generations, and certainly the customs of this tribe are difficult for us to understand. It is (ok just can't resist the pun) the polar opposite from the culture of say, Japan where the elderly are held in the highest regard. But are they really so different from us who often disregard our elders? Do you really think that eighty year old man wants to be thought of as "cute"?
As for the le More...
As for the le More...
Oct 22, 2009
Brooke
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Based on an ancient Athabascan legend about two old, complaining women left behind one starving winter before the white man came to the Yukon.
I love what Willis has to say about storytelling : ". . . . We would always end with Mom telling me a story. (There I was, long past my youth, and my mother still told me bedtime stories!) . . . . Stories are gifts given by an elder to a younger person. Unfortunately, this gift is not given, not received, a often today because many More...
I love what Willis has to say about storytelling : ". . . . We would always end with Mom telling me a story. (There I was, long past my youth, and my mother still told me bedtime stories!) . . . . Stories are gifts given by an elder to a younger person. Unfortunately, this gift is not given, not received, a often today because many More...
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Aug 19, 2011
Marion
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In this well-told tale of two tribewomen who are in their old age we see what determination can do. Having earned the respect of their tribe these two women have been content to let others do for them over the years. But their age hinders the tribespeople's movements and they are facing a brutal winter. The chief makes the decision to turn these two out into the harshness of the bleak Alaskan Yukon to live or die.
Together these two women forge a bond of friendship and recall the ski More...
Together these two women forge a bond of friendship and recall the ski More...
Aug 12, 2010
Cheryl
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My mother-in-law gave me this book to read several years ago now, and I finally read it (and as she would say, "isn't it nice that books wait for you?"). It was really a fun quick read - I read most of it in a doctor's waiting room.
The story relates the Alaskan legend of two elderly women who are abandoned, left to die, by their tribe during a time of hunger and hardship. They had thought themselves too old to work but when left on their own, they discover strengths they d More...
The story relates the Alaskan legend of two elderly women who are abandoned, left to die, by their tribe during a time of hunger and hardship. They had thought themselves too old to work but when left on their own, they discover strengths they d More...
Jul 04, 2010
Rachel
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What a great little book! Velma Wallis did an excellent job transitioning this oral tale into a compelling story about the Athabascan Indians in the Alaskan Yukon. Two old women are abandoned by their tribe during a winter famine. They are left to basically die alone. However, they decide that if they are to die, they’ll do it putting up a decent fight. The friendship and bond they find in each other as well as discovering the old skills they still possess-- the two women survive the winter. (Th
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Jul 07, 2008
Whjx
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It is based on an Athabaskan Indian legend. I love to read books that make you a better person than before you read it. This is one of those books. It is a book of stregth, empowerment and survival. A great lesson for all of us:)(Not just the old!)
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Aug 14, 2009
Margaret
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This story is based on an old Athabaskan Indian legend from the upper Yukon River in Alaska. The author who is from that area was told the legend by her mother when she was a little girl. She was impressed by the legend and wanted to make it into a book.
It is the story about two old women who are abandoned by their nomad tribe because they are old and the chief thinks that the two women are slowing down the tribe and making it harder for them to survive. So the women decide tha More...
It is the story about two old women who are abandoned by their nomad tribe because they are old and the chief thinks that the two women are slowing down the tribe and making it harder for them to survive. So the women decide tha More...
Jul 08, 2011
Donna
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This book is on the 2011 "Your Path to Authentic Leadership" reading list for the Society Of Information Management (SIM. Not at first an obvious choice.
It's the story of 2 elder women who are left behind by their tribe in Alaska when the tribe runs into hard times. They are left behind because they are draining the resources of the other tribe members.
The tribe assumes when they return a year later that they have died, and when they can't find any signs of their de More...
It's the story of 2 elder women who are left behind by their tribe in Alaska when the tribe runs into hard times. They are left behind because they are draining the resources of the other tribe members.
The tribe assumes when they return a year later that they have died, and when they can't find any signs of their de More...
Jan 27, 2011
Aischa
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Alhamdulillah, I picked this up at the right time. I felt guilty for it sitting on my shelf for so long, but really it was waiting for this time. My own decrepitude, whining, and recent knee injury has made me feel like my time is over, that's it, I'm old, ain't going to get better. The story of these women, abandoned, in their old age by their people during hungry times gives me courage. They survived! They challenged their bodies and drew upon their skills and knowledge, that lay dormant when
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Oct 31, 2010
Melissa
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I liked the simplicity of the way this book was written. It had none of the flowery adjectives and the exhaustive descriptions - the trys at being whitty. This was a straight forward story the way that the authors mother might have told it to her. That simplistic way of telling the story made it all the more sweet. A short story ( I read it in just over an hour) about two elderly women who are left behind by their people because they are too hard to take care of in the harsh Alaskan winter. I al
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Feb 07, 2009
Ann
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These two old women who were abandoned by their starving People learned a great deal about themselves. Before being left on their own they complained all the time and thought they could not do as much as they were really capable of. After they had to look after themselves they determined to do whatever was necessary to survive. Fortunately they had learned early in life how to survive during winter near the Arctic Circle and were successful. Reminds me of children who complain and do not feel th
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Dec 09, 2008
Sandra
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I'm an older woman myself busy exploring the wilderness near the town where my husband and I have retired. My daughter thought I'd love this book about VERY old Athabaskan women who are left behind by their migrating tribe because they would be a burden on the tribe. Instead of going off to die in the wilderness they figure out how to survive on their own. It is an exquisitely detailed retelling of an old legend the author grew up hearing. She has truly honored her elders by writing this wonderf
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Nov 25, 2009
This is the tale of two women who are abandoned by their tribe during a particularly harsh winter where 2 less mouths to feed can only be a relief. With a few tools, the two women are determined to survive. Not only do they make it through the winter, but they thrive and stockpile for the summer. When they are reunited with their tribe, they are able to help keep them from starving and become revered and treated as elders with wisdom. Good, uplifting tale of perseverance and determination. Also,
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Mar 30, 2011
Missy
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This book was a quick easy read only 130 so pages. A story of two old women who were left behind to die by their tribe because they were too much of a burden on the starving tribe. I didn't feel that the author developed the charactors as much as she could have. This book had great potential as a story but left you after reading it feeling that it was a good book but not really great and as the reader you didn't get to know the charactors therefore you weren't drawn to them when they suceeded
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Jun 26, 2010
Jessica
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Couldn't choose between 4 or 5 stars, but I put 5 because that's usually what I put for a book that I'd read again. I have to say, I was hesitant to choose a book about Alaska, I guess you forget the richness of the culture and the environment when you're right in it (sort of like people lecturing me that the craziness of my young children will be something I will miss later on), but I was very happy I picked this one. It was super short but full of great storytelling that I appreciate more af
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Sep 06, 2011
Beth
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Quick and easy read. Even though it is a small book, there's just enough to get the point across. Apparently leaving weak or sick tribe members behind was something nomadic tribes did. The emotions of those left behind, family & friends of those left and even of those who made the decision to leave them were explored in this book. The moral of the story is two-fold and has to do with respecting the knowledge of elders as well as a message to the older generation to be sure to step up to the p
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Apr 09, 2011
Erika
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I bought this book YEARS ago. I get a catalog called Bas Bleu and it has good and interesting reviews of books and one time, when I was ordering a bunch of books, I added this one for myself.
It's a small book with very big print, so I took it off the shelf recently to read it, figuring I'd get through it FAST.
The story is the written tale of of an oral Alaskan legend and it's good, but the first quarter takes a bit of time to get into it. I could see how it could be more co More...
It's a small book with very big print, so I took it off the shelf recently to read it, figuring I'd get through it FAST.
The story is the written tale of of an oral Alaskan legend and it's good, but the first quarter takes a bit of time to get into it. I could see how it could be more co More...
Dec 11, 2010
Lesley
rated it:
My true rating is a 3.75. I have not read very many fables, so do not feel that I am able to accurately rate this book. I read this in one sitting and found it compelling, touching and inspiring.
These Two Old Women, really, it seems were given a second chance at life. To live it fully to the end, dig deep, rely on each other and find that they could beyond their own and The People's belief survive. And not just survive, but flourish. I found myself studying the illustrations to More...
These Two Old Women, really, it seems were given a second chance at life. To live it fully to the end, dig deep, rely on each other and find that they could beyond their own and The People's belief survive. And not just survive, but flourish. I found myself studying the illustrations to More...
Oct 24, 2011
Dianne
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This little book is the retelling of an old Indian legend. It tells of a tribe struggling to find enough food to get through a hard winter and making the difficult decision to leave behind two elderly women who were a drain on their dwindling resources. Why waste their precious food on people who were going to die soon anyway? It was expected the women wouldn't last long in the frozen wilderness; this was not the first time the tribe had been forced into this situation. But these two women decid
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Apr 18, 2010
Nikel27
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(Paul's Books #5870)
Paul Gordon Ostler February 3, 1990 - August 2, 2005
Paulsbooks Bookshelf is dedicated to the memory of an incredible young man. Paul was struck by lightning and died on August 2, 2005. Paul was 15 years old. We hope to inspire others to share the love of reading Paul had.
Paul Ostler loved to read great books. Paul often wondered what life would be like if you didn’t like to read. It was incredulous for him to imagine his life, or anyone’s l More...
Paul Gordon Ostler February 3, 1990 - August 2, 2005
Paulsbooks Bookshelf is dedicated to the memory of an incredible young man. Paul was struck by lightning and died on August 2, 2005. Paul was 15 years old. We hope to inspire others to share the love of reading Paul had.
Paul Ostler loved to read great books. Paul often wondered what life would be like if you didn’t like to read. It was incredulous for him to imagine his life, or anyone’s l More...
Sep 24, 2008
george
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It has been decided that the two old women will be left behind. In the Alaskan wilderness, this means a certain death. All of The People are shocked, especially the to old women. But times are tough and there isn't enough food--the old women who only complain are simply a drag on the rest. The two old women are speechless as they watch the rest of the group pack up and move on without them. After recovering from the surprise, they make a decision: these two women will not die without a fight. An
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May 24, 2008
Yosafbridg
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What is fable? Legend? Must it have a moral?
Do we complain because we have the time to do so?
I'm not sure that the women of this title don't learn as much from themselves and each other as they have to teach to their own people. This book was recommended to me by someone i work with, and you know i had to read it as soon as i read the cover as it is a tale of my homeland and the people of the foster-sister i spent much of my childhood with.
It is a nice little tale that can be r More...
Do we complain because we have the time to do so?
I'm not sure that the women of this title don't learn as much from themselves and each other as they have to teach to their own people. This book was recommended to me by someone i work with, and you know i had to read it as soon as i read the cover as it is a tale of my homeland and the people of the foster-sister i spent much of my childhood with.
It is a nice little tale that can be r More...
