Girl Warrior
On Coming of Age
Available October 7, 2025!
In her best-selling memoir Poet Warrior, 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 including forgiveness, failure, falling, rising up, and honoring our vast family of beings.
Praise for Girl Warrior
"Joy Harjo combines the wisdom that was here long before Europeans showed up with the challenges of a woman’s life in the present. The result is inspired by the past and a personal preparation for the future."
—Gloria Steinem, feminist activist and author
"What a beautiful and brilliant call to arms. I wish I had Joy Harjo’s words when I was young. This book is a lovely ode to her own bravery and by extension, all of ours. Girl Warrior gives possibility to young people (and all people) through Joy Harjo’s own coming-of-age narrative. More than about having waded through tumultuous waters and survived to not only tell the story but thrive inside the people we become on the other side. This book is simply a balm."
—Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award winner
“Harjo’s compelling and affirming firsthand accounts describe navigating tricky family dynamics, turning toward compassion, and dealing with unimaginable loss. When she steps back to consider the enduring impact of ‘Historical Trauma,’ such as the devastating legacies of Indian schools, forced relocation, and continued discrimination, it’s clear that Harjo’s admissions, advice, and admonitions are not only necessary reading for Native girls and women but for every American.”
—Booklist, August 1
Washing My Mother's Body
A Ceremony for Grief
Now Available!
A beautifully illustrated edition of Poet Laureate Joy Harjo’s poem “Washing My Mother’s Body,” which offers a way through grief when the loss appears unbearable.
Through lyrical prose and evocative watercolor illustrations by award-winning Muscogee artist Dana Tiger, Washing My Mother’s Body explores the complexity of a daughter’s grief as she reflects on the joys and sorrows of her mother’s life. She lays her mother to rest in the landscape of her memory, honoring the hands that raised her, the body that protected her, and the legs that carried her mother through adversity.
Moving, comforting, and deeply emotional, Washing My Mother’s Body is a tender look at mother-daughter relationships, the complexity of grieving the loss of a parent, and the enduring love of those left behind.
