For the past few years, when asked about what makes me want to teach, I have given an answer that includes, in some form, the concept of being a good ancestor. I’ve become really taken with the idea that we always leave a part of ourselves, and to a certain extent we get to shape what that looks like. That idea has grown inside me in the past few years – maybe because of the amazing work of Layla Saad, who explicitly acknowledges in her work the importance of being a good ancestor. It’s almost certainly an idea that has been nurtured as I broaden my reading interests and read many more works by Indigenous authors, whose work tends to acknowledge the concept of being and communicating with ancestors much more than Western authors tend to. Maybe it’s my growing interest in maintaining a yoga practice. Or maybe it’s just a part of growing older. Whatever the reason, I have been fascinated by the concept of understanding our ancestry. Searching, moving, and inspiring, Ancestor Trouble is one writer’s attempt to use genealogya once-niche hobby that has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industryto expose the secrets and contradictions of her own ancestors, and to argue for the transformational possibilities that reckoning with our ancestors has for all of us. Maud Newton’s book explores her own interest in that subject, giving us a vulnerable look into her process and the outcomes.
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