On May 8, 2006, a Japanese hiker named Tomomi Hanamure was stabbed to death while hiking to Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon, a popular destination located in the Havasupai Indian Reservation. She was murdered by an 18-year-old member of the tribe named Randy Wescogame. Annette McGivney, a writer for Backpacker magazine, visited the reservation toreport on the crime, where she delved into issues of culture and spiritual versus commercial connections to land while recreating the tragic event. But that was not the end of the story for her. The experience set in motion a chain of events that led to her own unraveling. As she learned more about the details of the murder and the abuse that Wescogame had endured, McGivney began to recall long-buried memories of the physical abuse she suffered at the hands of her father.
Reconciling with her past meant finding a new way forward. As McGivney continued to delve into the lives of Hanamure and her killer—which involved taking up Zen practice, traveling to Japan, and visiting Wescogame in prison—her own path to recovery from her past trauma became intertwined with their story. This journey culminated in her book Pure Land, which describes the conditions that resulted in Tomomi's murder, and how the author's struggle informed her grasp of this horrific event. It is a powerful story that explores the transformative powers of nature and asks how we can seek the "western land of peace and bliss" in a world full of suffering.
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