Baltipink reviewed Becoming Kin by Nick Estes
Review of 'Becoming Kin' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Finding this book a little difficult to rate. The first 2/3 or so is mostly a summary of settler colonialism. If you are familiar with the issue and some of the source material, it isn't groundbreaking. It is; however, a mostly very readable summary. I say mostly because she often writes with a perspective of reforming christianity and as a non-christian I often felt like this book wasn't meant for me. It is presented a bit like here is how indigenous think and here is how christians think and there is our conflict. Ummmmm. Also, as an adoptee, I feel a bit mixed. She is clear about the loss and separation that adoption signifies for many native ppl and how disconnection is key to colonialism, but she was a social worker who presents adoption as an ambiguous result of one of her cases. Also, like so many others, she focuses …
Finding this book a little difficult to rate. The first 2/3 or so is mostly a summary of settler colonialism. If you are familiar with the issue and some of the source material, it isn't groundbreaking. It is; however, a mostly very readable summary. I say mostly because she often writes with a perspective of reforming christianity and as a non-christian I often felt like this book wasn't meant for me. It is presented a bit like here is how indigenous think and here is how christians think and there is our conflict. Ummmmm. Also, as an adoptee, I feel a bit mixed. She is clear about the loss and separation that adoption signifies for many native ppl and how disconnection is key to colonialism, but she was a social worker who presents adoption as an ambiguous result of one of her cases. Also, like so many others, she focuses a lot on ancestors and claiming kin in a way that I - who know nothing about where I come from - cannot relate to. If you know someone christian, has at least some knowledge of their origins, and who has little knowledge about settler colonialism but might be open to questioning - this might be a good book for them.
