Warrior Princesses Strike Back

Lakota twins Sarah Eagle Heart and Emma Eagle Heart-White dispatch “a love letter to our younger selves... and to the women we are today” in their expansive debut. The sisters each share their history growing up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the poorest county in the United States. At seven, they were essentially orphaned after their mother was hit by a drunk driver and suffered brain damage, leaving her unable to care for her children. With an absent father who was diagnosed as schizophrenic and not involved in their lives, Sarah and Emma were raised by their grandmother. As the pair recount traumas—including Emma being raped in high school and Sarah’s series of toxic relationships—and address topics including colonization, violence against Indigenous women, and the climate crisis, they reflect on the strength they discovered through their Lakota values and spirituality. As well, they lay out a set of Lakota laws pertaining to the themes discussed and trace the impacts of intergenerational trauma stemming from Native American boarding schools. The sisters sketch their paths from heartbreak to self-love and professional success (Emma works in psychotherapy while Sarah is an Emmy Award–winning producer), radiating compassion and wisdom along the way. Eye-opening and intense, this penetrating memoir will inspire. (Jan.)