Walking the Ojibwe Path

“The crisp prose shines and readers will be moved by discussions of how the author’s separation from his parents resonated throughout his life, as when he suggests that his drinking ‘always came back to… the fact that I was unlovable.’ Affecting and unflinching, this tugs at the heartstrings.”

“These affecting essays are beautifully written, and his experiences resonate on many levels, from the little boy who is experiencing loneliness to the young adult longing to find his place in the world to the adult he became before his death at age 61 … A well-written, introspective book on fatherhood and loss that will especially interest readers and students of First Nations life and literature.”

“With For Joshua, Wagamese wrote of internal and external struggles with substance abuse and trauma, and crafted an expansive work about healing, resilience, humanity, respect, inheritance, Indigenous teachings, and most of all, love. This book is a wonderful place to start if you’ve never read Wagamese, a must-read if you have, and an indispensable read for everyone.”

“Before his death in 2017, Wagamese (Starlight, 2018, etc.) had earned renown in his native Canada for his memoirs and novels. He had also completed this book for his son, then 6 years old … ‘As Ojibway men, we are taught that it is the father’s responsibility to introduce our children to the world,’ he writes to his son, and this posthumous publication is part of the legacy he passes along. A sturdy book of traditional wisdom and prescriptions for recovery.”

“The late Richard Wagamese’s For Joshua builds on the growing tradition of epistolary memoirs as a deeply spiritual letter to his son. In stark language, Wagamese somehow crafts scenes of memory, ritual, and narrative tradition so vivid they often made me pause to reread them three or four times over. By drawing on his truths as an Ojibwe man, recovering alcoholic, and father, this memoir walks the reader through a life journey as an example to call us back to our deepest purpose: to live in unity and become who we already are.”

“For Joshua is a tender and insightful letter to an estranged son. Richard Wagamese writes to Joshua and for himself to try to understand his journey, the challenges of his life and his estrangement from his son. The subjugation of Wagamese’s Indigenous heritage during his childhood and much of his adult life is heartbreaking. I’m not sure if Wagamese was able to repair his relationship with his son, but in publishing this For Joshua readers will be better off for having read it.”

“I hope that when Joshua does eventually read this book, he has the maturity to appreciate his father’s act of bravery, and to learn from it. For the rest of us, For Joshua is a fascinating and moving portrayal of one man’s search for his heritage, his true place in the world, and in the process, his discovery of himself.”

“Graceful and reverberating … A harrowing life story but also a ceremony, a gathering of traditional knowledge, and a love letter across the generations, For Joshua is a book we need, a book we can all treasure. Every page is infused with such tenderness and emotional intensity that I was shocked again and again with the thought: this is the true strength and reach and burden of love.”