Richard Wagamese Books in Order

Taken from his Ojibway family as a child, Garnet Raven grows up in foster homes and eventually reaches prison. A letter from his relatives leads him back to the reserve, where an elder helps him rediscover community, history, and belonging.

Joshua Kane, an Ojibway boy raised by white adoptive parents, forms a deep friendship with Johnny Gebhardt. Their adult lives take sharply different paths, testing a childhood promise of loyalty against racism, cultural displacement, and conflicting approaches to Indigenous rights.

Addressing his estranged son, Wagamese combines the story of his troubled life with Ojibway teachings. Reflections on addiction, belonging, responsibility, and love offer an account of hard-won self-understanding and a father’s hope of passing that knowledge onward.

A devastating rodeo injury sends Joe Willie Wolfchild back to his family’s ranch. A troubled teenager arriving with his mother becomes an unlikely companion, and their agreement to trade mechanical help for bull-riding lessons opens a path toward mutual understanding.

Wagamese revisits experiences ranging from childhood abuse and alcoholism to baseball, cooking, and ceremony. These autobiographical pieces explore how reclaiming his Ojibway identity and relationships helped him develop a different understanding of home and the course of his life.

Four people experiencing homelessness find companionship at the cinema and befriend a disillusioned journalist. A found lottery ticket promises to transform their lives, but claiming the money and navigating its consequences forces each to reconsider history, identity, and home.

Stories from Wagamese’s travels and daily life explore humility, trust, introspection, and wisdom. Drawing on encounters with people, wildlife, and traditional teachings, he reflects on how sharing experience can deepen understanding and strengthen a sense of community.

These poems move between Ojibway teachings, memories of life on the road, and reflections on love and music. Wagamese revisits childhood displacement and violence while exploring the people, places, and relationships that sustained his connection to the world.

Blues musician Cree Thunderboy has a gift for choosing winning racehorses but struggles to build his music career. A powerful gambler offers to finance his ambitions, drawing Cree into an arrangement whose criminal connections make success increasingly dangerous.

Removed from his Ojibway family and sent to a brutal residential school, Saul Indian Horse discovers an extraordinary talent for hockey. The sport offers escape and opportunity, but racism and unresolved trauma threaten the future he hopes to build.

Gifted young carver Lucas Smoke accepts a commission to create a spirit mask from images revealed in dreams. As the visions grow disturbing, he discovers that finishing the work could allow an ancient and dangerous sorcerer to return.

Sixteen-year-old Franklin Starlight accompanies his estranged, dying father into the wilderness for a traditional burial. During the journey, Eldon recounts the losses, love, and choices that shaped his life, offering his son an understanding long withheld.

Everyday work, ceremony, and quiet observation inspire these reflections on grief, recovery, gratitude, and joy. Wagamese draws on his own spiritual journey to explore how ordinary experiences can reveal meaning and sustain a deeper relationship with life.

Drawing on Ojibway Grandfather Teachings, Wagamese shares stories and ceremonies centred on humility, respect, and courage. Memories of displacement and recovery accompany his belief that shared ritual can help people find connection with themselves, their communities, and the world.

Short writings, essays, columns, and preserved online reflections trace Wagamese’s search for strength and understanding. Curated after his death, many appear in print for the first time, exploring personal growth, community, and the spiritual dimensions of ordinary life.