Harold R. Johnson’s The Power of Story speaks to the riveting and influential nature of narratives and the power that they hold to shape realities, for good and for evil. His text is historic fiction, a memoir, and a manifesto for a new path forward beyond the stranglehold of deficit narratives told about Indigenous Peoples in Canada. He teaches a new history, one of stark and gritty reality but also one of urgency toward a better future. He writes, “We become the stories we are told, and the stories we tell ourselves. Stories can heal you. Stories can kill you.” This takes the concept of story far beyond a fantastical illusion and into an influential world-shaping reality that must be respected and understood. Harold R. Johnson is the author of several books and is a member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation.

Cautions / Content Warnings: Mature themes.
Contributor Affiliation: Harold R. Johnson (Cree), Editor Vanessa Stauffer
Bibliography: No
Index: No

Source: Books BC - Indigenous Books for Schools

HAROLD R. JOHNSON is the author of five works of fiction and five works of nonfiction, including Firewater: How Alcohol Is Killing My People (and Yours), which was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction. Born and raised in northern Saskatchewan to a Swedish father and a Cree mother, Johnson served in the Canadian Navy and has been a miner, logger, mechanic, trapper, fisherman, tree planter, and heavy-equipment operator. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and managed a private practice for several years before becoming a Crown prosecutor. Johnson is a member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation. He is now retired from the practice of law and writes full time.

Harold R. Johnson's profile page

A CBC BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF 2022 • Longlisted for the First Nations Communities READ Award

Praise for The Power of Story

"Johnson’s idea is a powerful one: that a person is not only the 'author' but also the 'editor' of his or her life, that reframing a narrative is enough to change it."
—Literary Review of Canada

"A fascinating, thought-provoking, and ultimately inspiring read from cover to cover."
—Midwest Book Review

"By examining Indigenous stories, ways of living, dying, and—yes—laughing, Johnson ... offer[s] powerful alternatives to hierarchical structures of society that insist on consuming the Earth’s natural resources at an unsustainable pace."
—Steven Beattie, That Shakespearean Rag

"[The Power of Story] is quite the legacy to leave behind ... Clear and telling, this final work by Johnson is educational, cohesive and a very intriguing read."
—The Link

"The Power of Story is a profoundly hopeful book, rooted in the malleability of stories we have taken for granted (the justice system and the government, to name but two), and the power of humans building out from their lifestories to effect those changes."
—Quill & Quire

"Recently in conversation with a friend I remarked that the whole world is a story. Harold Johnson fills that phrase with profound meaning in The Power of Story as he takes ancient figures and modernizes their storied wit and role in creating the worlds we perceive and the boundaries we need. Harold blessed us one last time with a profound conversation on the role of story in every aspect of our lives."
—Michelle Good, author of Five Little Indians

“The Power of Story begins where all great stories begin: around a fire. Harold Johnson gives us a seat at the fire to listen and take into ourselves some spellbinding, bracing, and provocative stories told with a view to healing and transforming. As Harold writes ‘It’s starting to get darker now, and a bright fire will help.’ The Power of Story is that bright fire. And it will help. His final book is a balm for our times.”
—Shelagh Rogers

Praise for Harold R. Johnson

“An extraordinary memoir by a Cree writer who understands the damage alcohol does when used to kill the pain caused by white Canadians stealing and torturing Indigenous children throughout this nation’s history. I know many white alcoholics but it’s always ‘the drunk Indian.’ Why? Firewater is a great book; it burns in the hand.”
—Toronto Star

“A natural storyteller, Johnson seeks imagined pasts and futurity with equal parts longing and care. This work allows readers and writers the possibility of new and ancient modes of storytelling.”
—Tracey Lindberg, author of Birdie

“A luminous, genre-bending memoir. Heartache and hardship are no match for the disarming whimsy, the layered storytelling shot through with love. The power of land, the pull of family, the turbulence of poverty are threads woven together with explorations of reality, tackling truth with a trickster slant.”
—Eden Robinson, author of Son of a Trickster

“Written in the style of a kitchen-table conversation, Johnson’s personal anecdotes and perceptive analysis are a call to return to a traditional culture of sobriety … [a] well-argued case.”
—Publishers Weekly