Spirit Run: A 6000-Mile Marathon Through North America's Stolen Land

· Highbridge Audio · Narrated by Ramon De Ocampo
3 reviews
Audiobook
5 hr 19 min
Unabridged
Eligible
Want a free 32 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline. 
Add

About this audiobook

Growing up in Yakima, Washington, Noé Álvarez worked at an apple-packing plant alongside his mother, who “slouched over a conveyor belt of fruit, shoulder to shoulder with mothers conditioned to believe this was all they could do with their lives.” A university scholarship offered escape, but as a first-generation Latino college-goer, Álvarez struggled to fit in.



At nineteen, he learned about a Native American/First Nations movement called the Peace and Dignity Journeys, epic marathons meant to renew cultural connections across North America. He dropped out of school and joined a group of Dené, Secwépemc, Gitxsan, Dakelh, Apache, Tohono O’odham, Seri, Purépecha, and Maya runners, all fleeing difficult beginnings. Telling their stories alongside his own, Álvarez writes about a four-month-long journey from Canada to Guatemala that pushed him to his limits. He writes not only of overcoming hunger, thirst, and fear—dangers included stone-throwing motorists and a mountain lion—but also of asserting Indigenous and working-class humanity in a capitalist society where oil extraction, deforestation, and substance abuse wreck communities.
Growing up in Yakima, Washington, Noé Álvarez worked at an apple-packing plant alongside his mother, who “slouched over a conveyor belt of fruit, shoulder to shoulder with mothers conditioned to believe this was all they could do with their lives.” A university scholarship offered escape, but as ...

Discover more

Ratings and reviews

3 reviews

About the author

Noe Álvarez was born to Mexican immigrant parents and raised working-class in Yakima, Washington. He lives in Boston, where, until recently, he worked as a security officer at one of the nation's oldest libraries, the Boston Athenæum. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon, Ramon de Ocampo is best known for his television work, especially for his recurring roles on many hit TV shows, including The West Wing, Notorious, 12 Monkeys, and Sons of Anarchy. A longtime audiobook narrator, Ramon is an Audie Award nominee and has won eleven AudioFile Earphones Awards.
Noe Álvarez was born to Mexican immigrant parents and raised working-class in Yakima, Washington. He lives in Boston, where, until recently, he worked as a security officer at one of the nation's oldest libraries, the Boston Athenæum. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon, Ramon de Ocampo is best known f...

Rate this audiobook

Tell us what you think.

Listening information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.