Walking the Ojibwe Path: A Memoir in Letters to Joshua

"Milkweed's Seedbank series is one of the most exciting and visionary projects in contemporary publishing. Taking the long view, these volumes run parallel to the much-hyped books of the moment to demonstrate the possibility and hope inherent in all great literature." --Stephen Sparks, Point Reyes Books"Richard Wagamese is a born storyteller."--Louise Erdrich"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."--Publishers Weekly, starred review "Wagamese, who authored such classics as Indian Horse and A Quality of Light, was a singular voice in literature whose wisdom, openness, and incredible skill with sentences have lit up the lives of many readers. 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."--Literary Hub "Told lyrically and unflinchingly, For Joshua is both a letter of apology and another attempt at self-identification for the writer. A must-read for Wagamese fans, and a good primer for his novels."--Minneapolis Star Tribune "[For Joshua] is revealing, open, and tragic. It is also a remarkably touching and well-written journey."--The Globe and Mail "Wagamese is a writer of rough grace and fathomless humanity who has given so much more to the world than it ever gave to him."--Literary Hub, "Most Anticipated Books of 2020" "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."--Library Journal "Moving back and forth between the past and present, between struggle and insight, [Wagamese] weaves narrative and teaching into a powerful, inspiring whole."--BookRiot "Before his death in 2017, Wagamese 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."--Kirkus "For Joshua is both beautiful and harsh, a guiding light for both Wagamese and his readers, a book that will stand the test of time."--Andrew King, University Book Store "The late 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 Ojibway 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."--Erin Pineda, 27th Letter Books "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."--Jennifer Wood, East City Bookshop "What a beautiful book . . . In this letter to his son, Wagamese writes of his heritage, his drinking, his writing, and his love for the land. He also learns how to live with himself and his feelings with the help of others, and to face his demons and explain this struggle to his son. As he writes, we all 'really have two choices in life: to live in peace or to live in conflict, in harmony or out of balance.'"--Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books "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."--Hamilton Spectator

"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

"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."--Warren Cariou, author of Lake of the Prairies "Simply put, one of the most honest, beautiful, and heartbreaking books you'll read this year. Written to a son he never had the chance to know, Wagamese tells his story of a life filled with struggles that would break most men. Many of these were hinted at in his novels but to hear him tell his own story with such bare and unflinching honesty puts his entire body of work in a whole new light. Rest in power Richard."--Tom Beans, Dudley's Bookshop Cafe