“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
“The writer who did not know himself—and who blamed ‘the white man’ for his troubles—has become the man who understands how things happened and who resolves to go forward. 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
“Real … honest …Those familiar with the native community will be nodding their heads in understanding. Those not very familiar will get a 228-page snapshot of the darker side … a darker side with a light in the distance that Wagamese seems to be constantly trying to find.… Wagamese writes his story with the spirit of a poet. In particular, the presence of Charles Bukowski can be seen coaching his prose from the sidelines as Wagamese revisits old haunts.”
—Drew Hayden Taylor, The Globe and Mail
“Paper-cut sharp, linear slices of a life lived in omission.… It’s a deep, dark path Wagamese sets out on, one he admits is an ongoing process, a circle he learns more from with each revolution.”
—Georgia Straight
“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.”
—Warren Cariou, author of Lake of the Prairies
An absence of identity, and the struggle to attain it, lies at the heart of this powerful autobiography, in which Wagamese lays bare a disastrous life.… Dark and disturbing, still [Joshua] brims with emotion, touching chords of sympathy, even when empathy fails.”
—The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)