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Nemonte Nenquimo writes from the front lines of environmental and cultural survival.
Unlike many of Witherspoon’s bestsellers, which tend to skew towards commercial fiction, “We Will Be Jaguars” offers a welcome and urgent non-fiction detour. Raised in the Amazon within the Waorani tradition Nemonte Nenquimo writes from the fault line where her community’s way of life was gradually encroached upon by foreign forces. She navigates the tension between Indigenous life and colonial imposition with grounded strength.
Returning home after more than a year away, Nenquimo was confronted by the extent of the environmental damage: oil companies had moved in, polluting rivers and displacing communities. Her response — to fight back — forms the heart of the memoir. “My people always lived free in the forest and they want to continue living free in the forest. We need to protect it.”
Witherspoon called the book “an unforgettable memoir about fighting for your home and your heart.” Its Goodreads rating suggests readers agreed. It might come as a surprise that the top spot belongs to a nonfiction title, given the club’s track record of centering buzzy fiction. But “We Will Be Jaguars” is not an outlier. The second highest-rated-debut is also a politically-charged memoir: Austin Channing Brown’s “I’m Still Here,” ranking at 4.38 on the reading platform. The results point to a clear trend: books that draw from real life, particularly when they carry the force of political resistance, is what the readers of Reese’s Book Club really respond to.
