Reddit reviews From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii (Revised Edition) (Latitude 20 Books)

Yeah, I know.

I originally lived in Hawai'i back in the mid-90s. I moved there for college and thought I'd be in a carefree paradise -- I was a malihini through-and-through. I ended up flunking out of U.H. (long story) and moved back to the mainland, and when I went I was actually glad to go. At that time I had been disappointed by Hawai'i and came to not like it much, for the same reasons that afflict so many other newcomers. Basically, because it didn't fit my pre-conceived narrative and I resented it for that.

However, after moving away I thought about the experience, the place, the folks I encountered from a new angle. I realized the problem had been in me (forgive me; I was young and a little more naïve than most people my age at the time). Once I let Hawai'i tell me what it was all about, I started to fall in love with it. So I began the process of educating myself. I always wanted to move back and I got that chance after Peace Corps, and I would have stayed gladly (there's no place in the world I feel more vital and connected) but I just couldn't find any full-time work. Granted, my field sucks (I have an M.A. in Creative Writing) and I don't have many other skills, so it was a pipe dream.

Anyway, "Hawaiian" in this context obviously doesn't mean "I'm of Native Hawaiian descent," but more like "I identify with Hawai'i." I would never try to claim to know it well, but I want to. In fact, I support Hawaiian self-determination and would love to see it become a sovereign nation once more, so much so that I wrote a novel about it that was a finalist in last year's Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. They did a write-up on it in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. That book is really my love poem to Hawai'i. I hope I get to live there again someday, and that the third time will be the charm.