Synopses & Reviews
From the celebrated author of Medicine Walk and Indian Horse, a deeply moving self-portrait, in the form of letters to the son from whom he was estranged.
"We may not relight the fires that used to burn in our villages, but we can carry the embers from those fires in our hearts and learn to light new fires in a new world." Ojibwe tradition calls for fathers to walk their children through the world, sharing the ancient understanding "that we are all, animate and inanimate alike, living on the one pure breath with which the Creator gave life to the Universe." In this intimate series of letters to the six-year-old son from whom he was estranged, Richard Wagamese fulfills this traditional duty with grace and humility, describing his own path through life--separation from his family as a boy, substance abuse, incarceration, and ultimately the discovery of books and writing--and braiding this extraordinary story with the teachings of his people, in which animals were the teachers of human beings, until greed and a desire to control the more-than-human world led to anger, fear, and eventually profound alienation.
At once a deeply moving memoir and a fascinating elucidation of a rich indigenous cosmology, For Joshua is an unforgettable journey.
Review
"Moving back and forth between the past and present, between struggle and insight, [Wagamese] weaves narrative and teaching into a powerful, inspiring whole." — BookRiot
Review
"This well-written and perceptive book shows that it is possible for aboriginal people — for any person — to get back from there to here." — Quill & Quire
Review
"A sturdy book of traditional wisdom and prescriptions for recovery." — Kirkus
About the Author
Richard Wagamese (1955-2017) was one of Canada's foremost writers, and one of the leading indigenous writers in North America. The author of several acclaimed memoirs and more than a dozen novels, he won numerous awards and honors for his writing.