Peyton Mathie
Amanda is thrust into the past by a summons to a small town courthouse to testify against her stepfather. Memories unfold of her childhood on an Indian reservation and a relationship with her emotionally distant mother, Genevieve. On that day Uncle Noah reached over, held my hand tightly and whispered, 'Ista kota [Grey Eyes] I had a vision that you'll see the world through different eyes than all our ancestors. Instead you'll go down a different path in life and see the world through your birth father's eyes--a white man's eyes.' Tears streamed down his face that day as he continued, 'A better life will come at a price; but in the end you'll be stronger for having gone through it.' Amanda's adult life has been about running away from her childhood, but now she must confront the horrors of her past and the realities of her Native American heritage. Emotionally charged memories of childhood abuse from her sadistic stepfather and the neglect of an emotionally absent mother are relived. Raised in diametrically opposing worlds of an Indian reservation and the borough of Brooklyn, New York, Amanda is introduced to people and events that change her and impact her life forever. Somehow, she must now reconcile with all of it.
