In the most compelling way, Whiskey Tender, the memoir by Deborah Jackson Taffa (Kwatsaán and Laguna Pueblo), is both an intimate personal story and Native American history lesson. It reveals her own epiphany over what she and her ancestors are pressured to sacrifice in striving for the American Dream. Her account is both poignant and humorous. Best-selling author Tommy Orange calls Taffa’s story a “drink you didn’t know you were thirsty for.”