Another month, another Reese's Book Club pick I can't wait to get my hands on. But I'm especially excited about the November selection, We Will Be Jaguars by Nemonte Nenquimo and Mitch Anderson, for one interesting reason: It's just the fourth memoir Reese Witherspoon has ever chosen to feature—out of more than 100 books.
Reese Witherspoon Just Announced Her November Book Club Pick—& I Noticed Something Very Interesting About It
'We Will Be Jaguars' sounds *so* good
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Published Oct 29, 2024
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In an Instagram post announcing the pick, Witherspoon writes, "Our November @reesesbookclub pick is #WeWillBeJaguars, an unforgettable memoir about fighting for your home and your heart. We Will Be Jaguars follows the life of internationally acclaimed activist @nemonte.nenquimo and her journey to protect her people and indigenous lands, alongside her husband and writing partner @mitchandersonaf . I was so moved by this story. Listen to it on @applebooks, our official audiobook partner, all month long. 📚✨🎧 TW: Please note this book contains a scene that depicts sexual violence."
Here's the gist: Nemonte Nenquimo was born into the Waorani tribe of Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest—one of the last to be contacted by missionaries in the 1950s—where she was taught about plant medicines, foraging, oral storytelling and shamanism by her elders. When she was 14, she left to study with an evangelical missionary group in the city, but eventually, her ancestors began appearing in her dreams, pleading with her to return and embrace her own culture—and she listened. Two decades later, Nequimo is one of the most forceful voices in climate change activism. In We Will Be Jaguars, she and her husband, Mitch Anderson, dig into generations of oral history, hacking away at racist notions of indigenous peoples and revealing a life story as multifaceted as the Amazon rainforest itself.
If you follow Reese's Book Club as closely as I do, you'll notice that Witherspoon has a type—when it comes to books, that is. Out of her book club's 100-plus picks, the vast majority are fiction, with many falling into the thriller or rom-com genres. Now, We Will Be Jaguars joins Untamed by Glennon Doyle, I'm Still Here by Austin Channing Brown and Group by Christie Tate as a Reese-approved memoir.
I'm personally very excited to see Reese's Book Club branching out a bit, especially with a title that sounds as promising as this one does. Per a reviewer, "I thank all the people Who have helped publish this important work. There is so much wisdom distilled in these pages. The stories flow like a river into an ocean. Thank you for propagating the voice of the voiceless, the meek, the most vulnerable. These actions reflect the best humanity can offer. The bridge between the known and unknown, from hurt to healing is possible. This book is a Testament to the way we as a collective can move forward and choose a better tomorrow."
If that glowing response isn't enough to convince you of the power of this book, I don't know what will be. (I'll certainly be adding a copy to cart.)
