Crazy Brave Audiobook By Joy Harjo cover art

Crazy Brave

A Memoir

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Crazy Brave

By: Joy Harjo
Narrated by: Joy Harjo
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In this transcendent memoir, grounded in tribal myth and ancestry, music and poetry, Joy Harjo, one of our leading Native American voices, details her journey to becoming a poet. Born in Oklahoma, the end place of the Trail of Tears, Harjo grew up learning to dodge an abusive stepfather by finding shelter in her imagination, a deep spiritual life, and connection with the natural world. She attended an Indian arts boarding school, where she nourished an appreciation for painting, music, and poetry; gave birth while still a teenager; and struggled on her own as a single mother, eventually finding her poetic voice. Narrating the complexities of betrayal and love, Crazy Brave is a memoir about family and the breaking apart necessary in finding a voice. Harjo’s tale of a hardscrabble youth, young adulthood, and transformation into an award-winning poet and musician is haunting, unique, and visionary.

©2012 Joy Harjo (P)2014 Audible Inc. Art & Literature Authors Indigenous Creators Memoir Essentials Women Memoir Feel-Good Inspiring Heartfelt

Featured Article: The top 100 memoirs of all time


All genres considered, the memoir is among the most difficult and complex for a writer to pull off. After all, giving voice to your own lived experience and recounting deeply painful or uncomfortable memories in a way that still engages and entertains is a remarkable feat. These autobiographies, often narrated by the authors themselves, shine with raw, unfiltered emotion sure to resonate with any listener. But don't just take our word for it—queue up any one of these listens, and you'll hear exactly what we mean.

Featured Article The top 100 memoirs of all time
Poetic Storytelling • Spiritual Narrative • Powerful Memoir • Authentic Voice • Transformative Journey
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What a soulful journey. I loved this book, her voice and her spirit. So touching and beautifully written.

Heartbreakingly Beautiful

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I wanted to give a standing ovation when it ended. I have never heard anyone speak about their challenges and pain so beautifully. Her story telling, vivid description and attention to detail transported me to another world. It felt like I was traveling through her life with her. greay performance. great story.

standing ovation

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So beautifully written and narrated that I did not want it to end. I am in awe of Harjo's unique way of weaving life and art to tell her story.

memoir as poetry

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I would recommend this to anybody who loves a good story, wants to see things in a more spiritual way, or wants to see that things can get better.

Heartbreaking and Heartbreakingly Beautiful

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Powerful story. Amazing, strong woman. I will be looking for more from her. Loved hearing this in her own voice.

I want more!

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Joy Harjo is amazing story teller and poet. I did not want to stop listening.

awesome poet

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Incredible story written with such depth and beautiful prose. I can read this over and over.

Must read

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If the history of the contact between European and Native American culture does nothing to stir something in your soul, perhaps a personal narrative of a life as a creative and crazy brave Native woman will wake your spirit into a place of compassion and humility. I hope so. This was my listen during a flight from Tampa to Albuquerque. It’s a reading meditation and a prayer in the voice of the author, akin to Ta-Nehisi Coates’ ‘ Between The World and Me.‘ The story is the kind of writing that begins to unravel the colonialist American deceit of white supremacy and cultural homogeneity. I hope the ancestors are listening.

A great listening from the authors voice

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The way in which Joy Harjo uses language is unbelievably striking—coming to these poems to confess her innermost feelings and ideas, engage the spirit world and her ancestral lineage, convey and keep alive cultural practices, and explore the natural world in a sense of rematriation. Would recommend to anyone and everyone!

Gorgeous form and humanity

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Being a native of the Creek and Cherokee Nations, growing up with part of my soul in one world while the other struggled. I was born and raised in Tulsa and surrounding vicinities. I am most assuredly related to Ms. Harjo in blood but absolutely in spirit. I loved this book and it could not have come to me at a better time in my life. I have already passed it to my sister in hopes that she will feel the panic abate. Thank You Joy. Great granddaughter of E. Richards. ❤️

Highly recommend

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