Girl Warrior: A Coming of Age Handbook

An inspirational work of wisdom, warmth, and generosity from a three-term US poet laureate.

In her best-selling memoir Poet Warrior, renowned poet and activist Joy Harjo led readers through her lifelong process of artistic evolution. In Girl Warrior, she speaks directly to Native girls and women, sharing stories about her own coming of age to bring renewed attention to the pivotal moments of becoming that strike us in adolescence.

Informed by her own experiences and those of her ancestors, Harjo offers invaluable advice for navigating the many challenges of maturation, from facing mental illness to grappling with parents, friendships, love, and loss. Girl Warrior also guides young readers toward art, poetry, and music as powerful tools for developing their own ethical sensibility.

In this book, Harjo lends her unique voice to the complexity and joy of becoming a woman today. As inspiring as it is urgent, Girl Warrior illuminates essential moments of becoming, including forgiveness, failure, falling, rising up, and honoring generations past and future.