We Will Be Jaguars, Nemonte Nenquimo
We Will Be Jaguars, Nemonte Nenquimo
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We Will Be Jaguars
A Memoir of My People

Author: Nemonte Nenquimo, Mitch Anderson

Narrator: Christine Ann-Roche

Unabridged: 13 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 09/17/2024


Synopsis

FROM A FEARLESS, INTERNATIONALLY acclaimed activist comes an impassioned memoir about an Indigenous childhood, a clash of cultures, and the fight to protect the Amazon rainforest.

Born into the Waorani tribe of Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest—one of the last to be contacted by missionaries in the 1950s—Nemonte Nenquimo had a singular upbringing.

She was taught about plant medicines, foraging, oral storytelling, and shamanism by her elders. At age fourteen, she left the forest for the first time to study with an evangelical missionary group in the city. Eventually, her ancestors began appearing in her dreams, pleading with her to return and embrace her own culture. She listened.

Two decades later, Nemonte has emerged as one of the most forceful voices in climate-change activism. She has spearheaded the alliance of Indigenous nations across the Upper Amazon and led her people to a landmark victory against Big Oil, protecting more than a half million acres of primary rainforest. Her message is as sharp as a spear—honed by her experiences battling loggers, miners, oil companies, and missionaries. In We Will Be Jaguars, she partners with her partner, Mitch Anderson, founder of Amazon Frontlines, digging into generations of oral history, uprooting centuries of conquest, hacking away at racist notions of Indigenous peoples, and ultimately revealing a life story as rich, harsh, and vital as the Amazon rainforest herself.

"Nemonte’s writing is as provocative as it is inspiring, a heroine speaking her truth, which is exactly what we need to hear. Had we listened long ago to these voices, we wouldn’t be in the eye of the storm now. "—Emma Thompson, actor and writer

Reviews

Goodreads review by Canadian Jen on January 02, 2025

A disturbing memoir of colonization as late as the 1950’s deep in Ecuador’s Amazon Rainforest. Told by Nemonte Nenquimo, this is her experience as part of the Waorani tribe. How the white missionaries came in with Big bad Texaco to decimate the indigenous land by displacing tribes, poisoning rivers,......more

Goodreads review by Kate on January 23, 2025

I was lucky enough to receive an audio ARC which was read clearly by Christina Ann-Roche. She had a good voice and, despite some very emotional narrative, did not over-dramatise. This book will be released in the UK under the title "We Will Not Be Saved". I very nearly stopped reading this quite ear......more

Goodreads review by Mihaela on September 29, 2024

This book... Made me cry, made me be angry and understand more. It is a story that deserves respect, to be heard and lived. Everyone should read it. Thank you Nemonte for saying the story, your story.......more

Goodreads review by Helen on June 16, 2024

Everyone should read this book. It's really important. The more uncomfortable it makes you, the more important it is that you read it.......more

Goodreads review by Katy on December 02, 2024

"The white people destroy the forest because they don't know the forest. It is easy to destroy something that you know nothing about." I want to start this review by launching a complaint. Not about this book, but about all of you, my fellow readers. I make it a mission to read every Reese's Book Clu......more