"character" is just knowing yourself

There's a scene in Angeline Boulley's novel Firekeeper's Daughter where the main character, an Ojibwe teenager, describes her coming-of-age "berry fast." She loves berries of all kinds, so she committed to not eating any for an entire year. She otherwise lived a normal life - going to events where berries were served, going berry picking, and so on. She describes how her aunt even tested her by leaving her alone in the berry patch to see if she'd cheat (she did not). I have a bumper crop of black raspberries this year. They're coming on fast. There are enough still to ripen, and enough rain in the forecast, that I may have to make jam. I'm not sure I can eat all of these or even give them away. They're a pain in the everything to pick, but they're worth it. I was limbs-deep in the patch this morning, thinking about that scene in Firekeeper's Daughter. Thinking about how many mainstream Americans I've met who have told me they would "literally die" if they had to give up a favorite…