Running Barefoot

Amy Harmon is one of the happiest discoveries I've made in years. After stumbling onto one of her novels a short time ago, I've been patiently making my way through her entire booklist.Harmon's customary subject is a deeply troubled character, often with an abusive background. These people have pasts so distinctly unusual that it would be easy to just write them off as lost, and let it go at that. All of the stories are romances. All of the romances are logically inconceivable. The characters are drawn together by an urgency that some would call "fate". The love is so strong that it is impossible to deny it.This story fits right into that genre. Samuel, the male lead, is a "halfbreed" Navajo/White, teenaged boy who flees an abusive family on his Reservation, to live with his paternal grandparents (the White side of the family). His nuclear birth family has been torn apart by his father's early death, and his mother's remarriage to an alcoholic Navajo man with 5 children of his own. At odds with him, Samuel eventually leaves, hoping to finish high school with Don and Nettie Yates, his grandparents, who live in Levan, Utah, a small, "blink and you'll miss it" town dead center in the State.He doesn't fit in with the local students, and suffers through racism and bigotry. He meets Josie Jensen on the school bus, where they have been assigned seats across the aisle from each other. Josie is also an outsider type, in her case, because she is breathtakingly intelligent, reclusive, and gifted as a pianist. She has also suffered the death of a parent, in her case her mother, and left to become the surrogate mother to 4 much older brothers and a deeply grieving father, at just 9 years of age. We see how she adjusts to this new role and learns everything she needs to know about running a household within the first year, learning to cook, clean, garden and run the household finances, by plumbing the knowledge of her neighbors.She meets Samuel when she is 13, and he is a Senior in high school, probably 17 or 18. He rescues her from a taunting, bullying classmate, who is, like most of the boys, drawn to her because she has matured, physically, very early, is beautiful, and looks closer to 16 or 17, than 13. Samuel's rescue results in her being seated next to him, in the bus, rather than across the aisle, and keeps her out of the hands of her bullying classmate.Their subsequent relationship becomes about classical music, literature, and Navajo culture. She helps him to pass his English class by suggesting they read Wuthering Heights out loud to each other, and discussing it, on their twice daily bus rides to and from school. During these rides, they fall in love, and Samuel is smart enough to realize that a relationship between an adult man, (and, at 18, with his history, he is very adult), and a 13 year old girl is a death trap, ESPECIALLY for him, and so he takes steps to avoid the public circumstances which would punish him for this.He leaves and joins the Marines after high school graduation, while Josie continues to grow up, and eventually becomes engaged to a classmate. His path through life becomes a successful climb, culminating in the respect of his peers, a teaching position with the Marine Corps, and, finally, law school. Josie, on the other hand, suffers blow after blow and her path is blocked, losing her a full music scholarship to BYU, her incipient marriage to her fiance, and leaving her stuck at home, caring for her family, watching while they marry, move away and have families of their own, while she becomes her father's caretaker, after he suffers a debilitating stroke.Samuel finally finds his way home, after 10 years, hoping to have the relationship he always wanted with Josie, now that they are fully adult, at 23 and 28, and free from the threats to himself that the age gap would have produced. He finds her beaten down in a way that he doesn't foresee, and he no longer recognizes the girl he came to love, in the beginning.He realizes that the way he has handled the past decade, due to his own unique personality structure, and her responses to his actions, has created a vast chasm between the two of them. He hasn't recognized that the catastrophic events in her life, some of which he has actually KNOWN about, thanks to his grandmother's friendship with Josie, has altered her own personality. Though she still loves him, she avoids becoming involved with him out of fear that he will leave her again, and she cannot face one more loss, of that magnitude, in her life.The true beauty of this book unfolds in the last portion, where both of them are drawn together again, this time due to his urgent feelings for her, and his upcoming transfer to Camp Pendleton, outside of San Diego, and law school. Though he wants to marry her, finally, and bring her with him, she refuses, and he leaves again. Josie has become walled in by her need to be the caretaker for, not just her father, but her immediate family, and her extended family and friends. She believes that it is necessary for her to remain, and deny herself the satisfaction of a marriage to the man who loves her completely. Samuel gives her the choice, and, when she rejects him, he leaves without any further attempts to change her mind.We watch Josie, now, as she comes to her own understandings, takes her life into her hands, and makes the decision to take the leap of faith which will ultimately bring her to the place she should have been in from the beginning, had she only been free from societal forces, to make those decisions.This is a complicated book, with overtones of pedophilia. The characters, however, are so incredibly mature and self aware, that the reader completely forgets about the age difference. A relationship like this would have been, only a few centuries ago, acceptable at those ages. And, of course, the fact of the story being located in a small, very rural and conservative town in the middle of Utah, plays into these perceptions. The author completely ignores this aspect, even going so far as to not mention Mormon tradition while referring to the religious natures of the people involved, (while mentioning it in regards to history, casually, once or twice). For the discerning reader, however, this omission almost screams to be considered.Harmon has a deft hand. She forces the reader to see the characters as they are in their hearts, and not as a young, blond and blue eyed Mormon girl in love with a Navajo Reservation raised Native American Indian man. As she has done in her previous and subsequent books, she creates characters that we come to know as humans who are colored by their upbringings and beliefs, but not defined by them.This is not a book about large themes that will shake your world. It is, however, a book you will likely not forget easily. The characters, (and I mean just about ALL of the characters in the book), are honest, intelligent, unselfish, noble, and respectable people. They make decisions and hurt each other, but clearly struggle to do the right things throughout their lives, and attempt to find the paths they are meant to be on. It is sublime. Harmon's stock in trade is creating characters who you want to be, or simply be like. They are among the best of us, living lives with huge obstacles to their own personal satisfaction.Harmon's books are far more important than they appear to be. They are all beautifully written. They exalt the beauty and goodness inherent in all of us, if we could only clear away the clutter of culture. It is clear that Harmon, being herself raised in Levan, Utah, understands the advantages and the disadvantages of living in such a tiny and remote hamlet (according to Wikipedia, Levan, Utah has a population of 688.) This is a VERY small town. A very small MORMON town, with all the bigotry and racism that that implies.Harmon forces us, the readers, to recognize these facts, and include them in our understanding of the relationships of the people, on our own. She doesn't help with this. She assumes that we already know enough to guess at these forces. That becomes a compelling urge as we read through the book.I live in San Diego, (born and raised there) and I also spent a year in Ephraim, Utah, in college, (population, at that time, about 1000). I lived, also, for a time, in Provo. (I've also, oddly enough, been through Levan while visiting friends in Nephi.) And though I am not Mormon, I have many close Mormon friends. I understand these people. I may be uniquely situated to understand these people, given that I've lived both in Utah and in San Diego. I ALSO have, interestingly enough, some Navajo friends, and have spent time on their Reservation, and have lived on a Reservation outside of San Diego, during the course of an early career path that included working with the Tribes and the San Diego Welfare Dept.This story rings absolutely true to me. I can attest to the fact that the author has really gotten it right. It is well worth the time you will spend reading it.5 Stars. Buy it. And, while you're at it, buy all the rest of her books. While they share some larger themes, each book is individual and unique. The stories are all different. The circumstances are all different. Each one is a small treasure that you will keep in your hearts forever.

Moved to tears when I finished. Spectacular book, one of the best I've read! 5 stars.I am so blown away by this story. Amy wrote so beautifully. So much reflection, emotion, connection, and all the ways to engage the reader. Josie's and Samuel's relationship was so beautifully written, and Amy wrote them in such a gentle way for a relationship that I was just so in love with them. None of the typical quick-paced in-love feels, but rather a sweet, steady, growing appreciation and friendship for them that finally concluded with their love. LOVED that!I also enjoyed how she included Native American culture and wisdom, which made the story and the characters much more memorable. Of course, I loved the music theme and how they bonded to classical music.Happy feelings that also make me tear up! Definitely worth reading, don't wait! Grab your copy now!

Running Barefoot was one of those books that was off my radar for so long, that when I finally started it I thought ‘What was I waiting for?’ When I saw that this was Amy Harmon’s first published novel, I was shocked. This does not read like a debut. The writing is fantastic. This is a beautiful story of love, loss, music and most importantly, friendship. It’s the journey of two young people and the strong impact that their unlikely friendship had on their lives.Josie Jensen is a young girl who has a lot of responsibility for her age. She’s thirteen now, but ever since she was a child, she’s pretty much ran her house. Ever since her mother passed, she took on the cooking, some of the cleaning, and taking care of her dad and brothers. Josie is such a special girl. She is wise beyond her years. She is a musician, a reader and a dreamer.Then there is Samuel. Samuel is eighteen and goes to the same school as Josie. His senior year of high school, they get assigned to the same seat on the school bus. From there, the most unlikely of friendships evolve. Josie opens Samuels eyes to literature such as Shakespeare, and music. He realizes he loves classical like Josie. Samuel is a quiet and stand-offish man. He’s different than everyone around him. He is half Navajo and doesn’t feel like he fits in anywhere. Except when he’s with Josie.After spending the year becoming close friends, Samuel graduates and enters the Marines. For the near 10 years he’s gone, lots happens in his and Josie’s lives. Even though they were apart, they’ve never forgotten about one another. Their friendship was invaluable to Samuel. It shaped the man he became.Even though Samuel lost touch with Josie, he explains why. She was just too young. And his feelings for her were too strong. But Josie is not a child any more. She is a grown woman. A grown woman who has been through a lot this past decade. She has changed in some ways, but deep down, she’s still the girl Samuel knew all those years ago.Samuel is back for a short time, but their feelings for each other were always so intense, their connection so strong and real, it’s easy to pick up where they left off....I love a good second chance romance and a friends to lovers tale. Although there were several moments of tragedy that were heart breaking, for the most part, this book left my heart happy and left me with a big smile on my face. I was fascinated by all the information on music, as well as the Navajo culture. This was a story that really touched me and I won’t soon forget. The friendship, the romance, the characters, the story, the writing, I loved it all. If you’re looking for a beautiful and engaging story with a lot of love and a lot of heart, this is one I would recommend.

The author wrote a beautiful and meaningful story. I laugh and cried just like I do in life. I recommend this book to everyone who enjoys A excellent story.

Omg! What was that?? Loved this book with all my heart!It's so enchanting! So beautiful!Great story, engaging and marvelous!

I love Amy Harmon! She has such a positive way of writing every novel. It's light, yet keeps your nose into it. For those who need an escape into sometime soft & nice. My 86yr old sister loved the 2 books I sent her as a gift!

First time reading this author's work. Simple but captivating story. Made me refer google!!! for better understanding of different cultures. Would defenitely recommend this book

This book fixed and broke me at the same time. I was longing for a slowly building up love story, and thats what I got. But it was more than a love story, it explored the depth of friendship, purpose, life and that you end up where you need to be. Thank youuuu

C'est mon premier livre en anglais et je suis heureuse de l'avoir lu. Même si mon niveau n'est pas très bon, j'ai pu ressentir les émotions et la poésie de ce livre. Cela a touché mon cœur.