Narrows of Fear (Wapawikoscikanik)

By: Carol Rose GoldenEagle

Narrated by: Carol Rose GoldenEagle

The Narrows of Fear (Wapawikoscikanik) navigates the unsettling, but necessary. When love of, and respect for, culture goes awry, it is our indigenous women who bring us back to what is important. This novel is an interweaving of stories centered on a range of characters, both male and female, though the women, for the most part, are the healers. Though several were abused both in their own community and in residential schools, these women are smart and loving and committed to helping one another. They eagerly learn to celebrate their culture, its stories, its dancing, its drums, and its elders.

Principal of these elders is Nina, the advisor at the women’s shelter. With the help of Sandy and Charlene, both of whom are educated and courageous, overcoming losses of their own, Nina uses Indigenous practices to heal the traumatized Mary Ann. This is a very powerful novel - sometimes brutally violent, sometimes healing, sometimes mythical, and always deeply respectful of the Aboriginal culture at its heart.

©2020 Carol Rose GoldenEagle (P)2021 Inanna Publications

Critic reviews

“Strong women united in friendship and solidarity are an unstoppable force. These characters will stay with you. This story is haunting in all the good ways.” (Katherena Vermette, author of The Break)

“Even though fiction, Narrows of Fear (Wapawikoscikanik) is an authentic telling of Truth as its characters wrestle with the trauma of inter-generational violence and abuse rooted in the colonization of Indigenous peoples. It is also an honouring of language, of culture, of dreams, and of Spirit. A story of courage, of hope and healing, it is a welcome addition to the widening and strengthening of Circle for all. Hiy Hiy Osawa Mikisew Iskwew.” (Lorrie Potvin, author of First Gear: A Motorcycle Memoir, and the forthcoming, Horses in the Sand)

“Carol Rose GoldenEagle's novel, The Narrows of Fear (Wapawikoscikanik) is a powerful and compelling novel about Aboriginal women reclaiming and celebrating our Indigenous culture, traditions, and ways of knowing. Collective knowledge can heal and strengthen humanity when women are given space to do so. A must read for all women!” (Beverly Little Thunder, author of One Bead at a Time: A Memoir)