By Kaylie Seed
Author Elaine Alec bares her soul in her memoir Calling My Spirit Back. I’ve always found reviewing memoirs to be difficult. When someone has put their life out there for others to read in such a personal way, who am I to say whether it is good or not? However, I’m beyond happy that I’ve had the opportunity to read and review Alec’s memoir because it is truly a phenomenal read. Alec is from the Syilx and Secwepemc Nations and she wrote this memoir to share her trials and tribulations with the world, and to have others use this book as a tool in their own journey through life.
Alec discusses how residential schools impacted her through intergenerational trauma; how her parents’ and grandparents’ traumas affected her; and how getting back to her roots helped shape her into the woman she is today. Alec’s entire life is on display unapologetically, leaving the reader to empathize with everything that she has experienced. Her prose is powerful. She paints picture after picture, showing the way she has lived through so much with an abundance of grace. Mixing heartbreak with happiness, Alec includes a lot of detail around tradition, and how this guided her to finding her spirit after it had been lost for so long. Calling My Spirit Back reminds readers that it is never too late to take a new path in life and learn from their past.
Alec goes beyond telling her own story and gives the reader tools for how to cultivate safe spaces for others in need of finding their spirit. Alec’s four protocols for cultivating a safe space are: promote inclusion, promote validation, promote well-being, and promote freedom. These protocols are tools that readers can use in their daily lives to help make the space around them safe for others.
I’m absolutely honoured that Elaine reached out to see if I would be interested in reading her memoir. I felt a great sense of love while reading her words, and I hope that others find solace in what she has to say. I look forward to seeing what she does next on her journey.
*Thank you to Elaine Alec for this complimentary copy of Calling My Spirit Back!