No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies

Julian Aguon

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A collection of essays on resistance, resilience, and collective power in the age of climate disaster from Chamorro human rights lawyer and organiser Julian Aguon.

'A powerful, beautiful book. Its fierce love - of the land, the ocean, the elders and the ancestors - warms the heart and moves the spirit.' - Alice Walker

Part memoir, part manifesto, Chamorro climate activist Julian Aguon's No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies is a coming-of-age story and a call for justice-for everyone, but in particular, for Indigenous peoples.

Aguon beautifully weaves together stories from his childhood in the villages of Guam with searing political commentary about matters ranging from nuclear weapons to global warming. Bearing witness and reckoning with the challenges of truth-telling in an era of rampant obfuscation, he culls from his own life experiences to illuminate a collective path out of the darkness.

A powerful and bold new voice writing at the intersection of Indigenous rights and environmental justice, Aguon is entrenched in the struggles of the people of the Pacific who are fighting to liberate themselves from colonial rule, defend their sacred sites and obtain justice for generations of harm.

In No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies, Aguon shares his wisdom and reflections on love, grief, joy and triumph, and extends an offer to join him in a hard-earned hope for a better world.

Published: 15 October 2022
ISBN: 9781787334120
Imprint: Jonathan Cape
Format: Hardback
Pages: 128
RRP: $48.00

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Praise for No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies

A powerful, beautiful book. Its fierce love - of the land, the ocean, the elders and the ancestors - warms the heart and moves the spirit.
Alice Walker

The shortest BIG book I've ever read...strong and luminous as a needed beacon in a fog of disinformation and dismay, Julian Aguon with this small book emerges already a giant.
Tommy Orange

A breathtaking book and I mean it - this book took my breath away. No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies is so alive with passion, wisdom and heart, you can almost feel its pulse.
Junot Díaz

I did not know I needed this book until it had me in its embrace like the oldest and dearest of friends, from the very first page. Overflowing with warmth and wisdom and defying all categorisation, No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies is philosophy, poetry, memoir, history and self-help for humanity. With bottomless love for his people and place, Aguon guides us through a portal to the Pacific, sharing deep insights earned from life on the existential knife's edge.'
Naomi Klein

Julian Aguon speaks to the soul. His words - gentle, fierce, luminous and haunting - urge us to look deeper. To be kind, to be human. To cherish the earth. I am in love!
Isabella Tree