September 22, 2014 - 10:54
When reading the first chapter – mountains, describing the tough times the writer had, all the disabilities and sexual abuse, I thought the topic of the book would focus on the difficulties the writer had gone through and the process of gaining self-respect. However, starting to read the first part, I doubt that I was reading another person’s story, totally different from the previous content. It has nothing to do with disability or trauma, in contrast, it is the scene of writer walking home after school looking at the trucks carrying loggings and enjoying the natural forest in her homeland. Throughout part1, the writer seldom mentioned about her sufferings. Although she didn’t put emphasis on her sufferings, combining the background and the story, she gained respect from me, not just because of her disabilities, but more importantly because of her deep and clear perception, her courage to stand out as a lesbian and fight for homosexuals.
The writer has no shame on herself, since she never hides from her miserable experience in childhood and her identity as a queer, and neither did she lived in the shadow of those hurts. She didn’t feel pity for herself, instead, she ignored her defect and took on the responsibility as a conscientious citizen. Sharing her youth experience with readers, she also stood out for the loggers on a fair position and condemned those innocent environmentalists that blame the environmental destruction on the loggers and the interest-driven capitalist. Moreover, she also talked about the subtle balance between human and nature. As a person who grown up in forest and now lives in urban areas, she has a more comprehensive understanding of the ‘clearcut’ issue.