Sasha LaPointe, the author of Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk, is an established musician, poet and writer of nonfiction who holds an MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts. According to her website, she draws inspiration from her Indigenous background (from the Upper Skagit and Nooksack Indian tribes) and "writes with a focus on trauma and resilience, ranging topics from PTSD, sexual violence, the work her great grandmother did for the Lushootseed language revitalization, to loud basement punk shows and what it means to grow up mixed heritage." As is apparent from reading Red Paint, her nonfiction writing is informed by the other forms of art she practices.

In her book, LaPointe recounts her continual love for music and its transformative role in her life, including the personal impact certain artists, such as PJ Harvey and Bikini Kill, had on her at different times. She also shares the impetus behind lyrics she wrote that are featured in a ...