ENDORSEMENTS

My first little award! Also, book is being entered into the Saskatchewan Book Awards with more to follow!

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The Canada Book Awards program recognizes and promotes Canadian author outstanding accomplishment. The Canada Book Awards is an ongoing book assessment program that honours Canadian authors regardless of when their books and/or eBooks were published

INDIE REVIEW

ISKOCĒS TIPISKAK (A Spark in the Dark) is a thoughtfully written, compellingly honest and immensely interesting memoir of life as an indigenous man in Saskatchewan that brims with integrity and inspiration. John Langan’s journey saw him overcome significant hurdles to become a highly respected member of the Canadian Police Force and military, while nurturing and preserving his cultural and spiritual identity.
https://indiereader.com/book_review/iskoces-tipiskak/

KIRKUS REVIEW

An Indigenous Canadian of Ojibway and Cree descent presents a debut memoir and a guide to spirituality.

Langan, a military veteran and police officer, presents a multipart book for multiple audiences. First, this book is the author’s memoir of growing up as a member of the First Nations and how he later struggled with alcoholism and trouble with the law. He also dealt with family members’ suicide attempts and drug-related deaths, which are recounted in passages that some readers might find difficult to read. Later, he entered the military and then joined the police force. The account is full of vignettes of key moments in Langan’s life, including particularly moving accounts of his courtship of Bianca, who became his wife, and of the births of their children. The book includes matter-of-fact references to Indigenous spiritual practices, such as sweat lodges and smudges, as well as accounts of encounters with spirits; the latter tales may require open-mindedness on the parts of many readers—which the author specifically requests. Although the first part of this book seems intended for all audiences, the second part, a guide to Indigenous spiritual practices (including a personal account of a multiday fast), appears to be directed primarily at Indigenous readers. Here, Langan offers detailed descriptions of various rituals and ceremonies, starting with the ones that he says are in danger of being lost forever. He includes matter-of-fact commentary about gender distinctions in some ceremonies that reflect beliefs about women’s bodies and women’s spirituality as well as about ceremonial etiquette. Overall, Langan’s book might have worked best as two separate works; that said, the second part does provide an intriguing window into First Nations life and faith, which may give some readers a new appreciation of some Indigenous people’s struggle to maintain longtime practices.

An often moving memoir and an informative spiritual survey.
An often moving memoir and an informative spiritual survey.