Beyond The Four Corners Of The World: A Navajo Woman's Journey [Hardcover]

Emily Benedek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 1995

With 8 pages of photographs

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This biographical portrait of a Navajo woman and her family holds important lessons for those seeking to restore bonds of family and community. College-educated Ella Bedonie, born on a northern Arizona reservation in 1952, and her husband, Dennis, an elementary school counselor, navigate two worlds?Native American and white, sacred and secular. At the age of six, Ella was forced to attend a government boarding school, where she endured beatings and was punished for speaking Navajo. Then she spent 10 years with a protective Mormon foster family in California, after which she returned to the reservation to confront a longstanding Navajo-Hopi land dispute (the focus of Benedek's The Wind Won't Know Me), which jeopardized her parents' ranch and camp: Ella's future inheritance. In 1989, she and Dennis moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, and built a house, but their teenage son, Kimo, joined a gang and dropped out of school. Diagnosed with breast cancer, Ella moved her family back to the reservation; Kimo straightened out and her cancer went into remission. Benedek evokes Navajo society, customs and a cosmos in which the gods are nearby and life is imbued with purpose. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This latest work from the author of The Wind Won't Know Me: A History of the Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute (LJ 12/92) is a revealing look at a Navajo woman's struggle to retain the culture of her ancestors while living in modern America. Benedek traces the life of Ella Bedonie from her childhood days on the reservation, through her emergence in the white world, and finally to her return to her ancestral homeland. Through Ella's eyes, Benedek presents a vivid portrait of Navajo culture, describing the need for the Navajo people to re-create their beliefs and traditions in order to survive alongside white society. In the book's most striking section, Ella and her family return to the reservation when she is stricken with cancer. There she participates in the traditional ceremonies in an effort to counteract her illness, and she rekindles her faith in Navajo beliefs, which serve as a source of strength and ultimately allow her to live successfully in both worlds. Recommended for Native American collections.?Vicki L. Toy Smith, Univ. of Nevada, Reno
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 343 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1st edition (August 22, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679421432
• ISBN-13: 978-0679421436
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,526,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a writer and journalist. Since 9/11, I have written exclusively about terrorism and counterterrorism. See my web page, www.emilybenedek.com to learn why I decided my latest book had to be written as a novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars vivid, fascinating, well researched, August 2, 2000

By 

Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond the Four Corners of the World: A Navajo Woman's Journey (Paperback)

The story of Ella and her struggle with illness and how it intersects with her spiritual and cultural world is at once fascinating and very sad. To read Benedek's account is to travel by literary horseback deep in the rez, and meet the residents of a different world, one which is changing, one which is struggling to hold onto traditional ways at the same time. I recommend this book to anyone with interest in native people, anyone interested in cultural perspectives on illness. And anyone else! Benedek is academic and personal, she takes you there.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent on Two Levels, March 13, 2004

By 

"starfisherman" (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond The Four Corners Of The World: A Navajo Woman's Journey (Hardcover)

I found Beyond the Four Corners of the World to be an excellent piece of work on two levels. On the surface it's a biography; one woman's journey away from - then back to - her roots and her homeland. On a deeper level, it's a rare glimpse into the religion, culture and lifestyle on the Navajo reservation. Upon completion of this book, I felt that I had gained insight not only into the mind and heart of Ella Bedonie, but also into the beliefs and values of the Navajo People.