We Will Be Jaguars (Reese's Book Club Pick)

REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICKNamed one of the Best Nonfiction Books of the Year by Library Journal "An unforgettable memoir about fighting for your home and your heart." -Reese Witherspoon (Reese's Book Club November '24 Pick) From a fearless, internationally acclaimed activist comesan impassioned memoir about an indigenous childhood, a clashof cultures, and the fight to save the Amazonrainforest We Will Be Jaguarsis an astonishing memoir by an equally astonishing woman. Nenquimo is a winner ofTIMEmagazine's Earth Award, andMS.magazine named this book among the Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2024. Born into theWaoranitribe of Ecuador's Amazon rainforest-one of the last to be contacted bymissionaries in the 1950s-NemonteNenquimohad a singular upbringing. She was taught aboutplant medicines, foraging, oral storytelling, and shamanism by her elders. At age fourteen, she leftthe 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 ownculture. She listened. Two decades later,Nemontehas emerged as one of the most forceful voices in climate changeactivism. She has spearheaded the alliance of indigenous nations across the Upper Amazonand led her people to a landmark victory against Big Oil, protecting over a half million acres ofprimary rainforest. Her message is as sharp as a spear-honed byher experiences battling loggers, miners, oil companies and missionaries. InWe Will Be Jaguars,she partners with her husband, Mitch Anderson, founder of Amazon Frontlines, digging intogenerations of oral history, uprootingcenturies of conquest, hacking away at racist notions ofindigenous peoples, and ultimately revealing a life story as rich, harsh, and vital as the Amazonrainforest herself.