Navajo Strong

by Joyce Phillips

A book of poems, a Navajo man, and beautiful New Mexico sunsets were long ago memories. That is until a letter arrived from a man Sally believed was dead in Vietnam and a granddaughter she didn’t know was alive.Correspondence over thousands of miles wrote of past hurt, disappointment, and love. Three women discover relationships between a grandmother and granddaughter, and a mother and daughter. A man finds the woman he believed kept him alive for four years in a Hanoi prison cell.Sally has begun a life in Yangzhou, China. Will the discovery of her Navajo family lure her back to New Mexico? Or will she return to the man she loves and children she teaches in China?

218 pages, Paperback

Published May 16, 2019

Reviews

[Military Writers Society of America (MWSA)]

MWSA Review

Navajo Strong is a short book, a quick read with a long-lasting emotional impact. Its single plot line details the coming together of three women related by blood ties but separated by time and distance, by misunderstandings and clashing cultures. We know their names, but the author follows Navaho traditions by referring to them primarily as they see themselves—Grandmother, Mother, Daughter.

Each of these women has a lesson to teach us. Grandmother has faced the greatest challenges but found a way to surmount them. Her openness to learning about new cultures and exploring far-off lands makes her a delight. Mother struggles with long-held assumptions, contradicted by new revelations. And Daughter, a sparkling 13-year-old, stands in the doorway to the future, encouraging the reader to look ahead to the benefits of the modern world while giving full recognition to the treasures of the past.

I enjoyed this work, seeing it as almost a parable. I read it quickly, taking some delight in the author’s ability to catch the linguistic phrasings of characters whose first language was Navajo or Chinese. The differences between cultures revealed their underlying similarities and gave me hope for the future.

Review by Carolyn Schriber (March 2020)

[Zo Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Navajo Strong is a wonderful continuation of the story begun in China Strong. It follows the main character, Sally, from her new life in China to a return to her past in New Mexico. In China, Sally teaches at a Chinese school and has found new love with Han, another teacher. She is driven to return to her past when she received news that her first husband, who she believed was killed in Vietnam, is still alive. They had a child together, but she felt forced to leave the child with her Navajo grandmother in order to provide her with her tribal culture. Now that child has her own daughter and the granddaughter, Chooli, wants to meet her grandmother. Circumstances force Sally to make the decision to go to the Reservation and meet her family and her first love. Like China Strong, much of the story is driven by the culture of the people. As a reader, I was drawn in not only by the characters and their struggles to find common ground, but by the description of Navajo life and their beliefs. I hope other readers will find themselves desiring to know more about the Native Americans, who are such an important part of our national history.

[Dawn Brotherton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read to learn about Navajo traditions and lifestyle on a reservation that is not dramatized by television.