You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me

You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me: A Memoir  by Sherman Alexie         Audio Book: 12 hours        Hardback Book: 464 pages               

I knew that life on the reservation was hard and harsh and many of the Native Americans who live there have such a hard time that many turn to other measures to make life a little less depressing, drink, drugs, but what had never entered into my thoughts was the abuse mental, physical and most horrible sexual abuse of children.    Sherman Alexie discusses in detail horrific terrors that happened to him and others in the tribe from family, friends of family who are tribal members also the despicable things that occurred through the people coming onto the reservation who were supposed to be offering hope and help, priests, teachers, local people who pretend to be kind only to turn on them (he describes an older boy who pretended to befriend him and his cousins once only to turn around and start shooting them.    No wonder there is so little trust and so much hate and anger in the people who live there.    What began with the breaking of treaties by the government and abuse by soldiers and rogues forcing those who were the original inhabitants of the land to move from the rich parcels of land they farmed to tracts of land so harsh they were all but wastelands homes of rattlesnakes, coyotes, bears too harsh for the overbearing interlopers who hoped the Native Sons and Daughters would die from the lack of resources available to them in the hell holes they were imprisoned on.    But these were proud and noble folk who did the best with the lot that was thrust upon them and in the circumstances they found themselves.  Not every human being is mentally strong enough to deal with the harshness.   Sherman Alexie’s parents chose to color their world with alcohol and drugs.    This helped to numb them to life for a while.   Of course, this left their children vulnerable to the others who were always over to party and fight, drinking, doing drugs and molesting the children, the Alexie children, their cousins and friends.    Parties were a cover to rape children, to beat up and rape the older kids and abuse young women and young men as they saw fit because no one was clear headed enough to protect them.   Sherman Alexie talks about being bi-polar and in this memoir he deals with so much grief over his life and what he and his family have been through.   The bigotry of the town people toward the tribal peoples.   It is an often shocking book a look deep within the ugliness of what can happen to a soul.   Alexie pours his emotion into his poetry and there is such a feeling of release when you read his poems  which are so full of the hurt and contempt he feels at everyone who did dastardly things to him throughout his life and he rails at God in such ugly ways when he still to this day is so full of venom over the death of his mother.   While his father never tried to quit drinking and drugging his mother finally did and took the kids and ran away from the reservation once only to find she didn’t have anywhere to go and dejectedly returned.   A sad story that will remain in your memory but not without light moments.   Even the most put upon can find something to laugh about even in the most dismal of conditions and Sherman Alexie does that throughout offering light laughter his way of making it through.   It will keep you interested but his rants can get pretty blasphemous.