Quotes From Walking The Rez Road

“I realized then that surviving / the peace was up to me.” – Narrator (Northrup, Jim. Walking the Rez Road: Stories. Fulcrum Publishing, 2013. Print. 4.) This quote was rather strange to me. It’s hard to imagine that someone’s life experiences were so chaotic and screwed up that in time of peace and serenity they are struggling and confused. My life is so hectic I would pay money to have just a week of no stress, no problems, just peace.
“Didja ever wonder / when it would end? / It ended for my brother. / He died in the war / but didn’t fall down / for fifteen tortured years. / His flashbacks are over, / another causality whose name / will never be on the Wall.” – Narrator (Northrup, Jim. Walking the Rez Road: Stories. Fulcrum Publishing,
Walking the Rez Road: Stories. Fulcrum Publishing, 2013. Print. 49.) I don’t quite understand what is being said here. I know what he means by where he came from, but what about where he is going? Is he returning to the reservation? Is this talking about some daily cycle, or could it mean more, like the cycle of life?
“Institutionalized / Toughed it out / Survived” – Narrator (Northrup, Jim. Walking the Rez Road: Stories. Fulcrum Publishing, 2013. Print. 58.) Is this how it works for people with mental health issues? I’m just interested if that is what is being said here. Do people simply go to an institution, act like everything is okay, and then live the rest of their lives with those issues just tucked away?
“Some don’t understand. / Some can’t, some won’t.” – Narrator (Northrup, Jim. Walking the Rez Road: Stories. Fulcrum Publishing, 2013. Print. 68.) Recently I feel like this could describe my life, specifically one situation. I’ve done everything I can to make things with work out with a girl. She doesn’t understand that the things I do are for her. On the flip side, her ex doesn’t want to think of me as anything but dirt, and refuses to see good in anything I do. No matter what I end up being the bad