Hopeless in Hope

Publisher's Description (High Water Press): 
We live in a hopeless old house on an almost-deserted dead-end street in a middle-of-nowhere town named Hope. This is the oldest part of Hope; eventually it will all be torn down and rebuilt into perfect homes for perfect people. Until then, we live here: imperfect people on an imperfect street that everyone forgets about.

For Eva Brown, life feels lonely and small. Her mother, Shirley, drinks and yells all the time. She’s the target of the popular mean girl, and her only friend doesn’t want to talk to her anymore. All of it would be unbearable if it weren’t for her cat, Toofie, her beloved nohkum, and her writing, which no one will ever see.

When Nohkum is hospitalized, Shirley struggles to keep things together for Eva and her younger brother, Marcus. After Marcus is found wandering the neighbourhood alone, he is sent to live with a foster family, and Eva finds herself in a group home.

Furious at her mother, Eva struggles to adjust—and being reunited with her family seems less and less likely. During a visit to the hospital, Nohkum gives Eva Shirley’s diary. Will the truths it holds help Eva understand her mother?

Heartbreaking and humorous, Hopeless in Hope is a compelling story of family and forgiveness.

Author's Biography (High Water Press): 
Wanda John-Kehewin (she, her, hers) is a Cree writer who uses her work to understand and respond to the near destruction of First Nation cultures, languages, and traditions. When she first arrived in Vacnouver on a Greyhound bus, she was a pregnant ninteen-year-old carrying little more than a bag of chips, a bottle of pop, thirty dollars, and hope. After many years travelling (well, mostly stumbling) along her healing journey, Wanda brings her personal experiences to share with others. Now a published poet and fiction author, she writes to stand in her truth and to share that truth openly. Wanda is the mother of five children, one dogm two cats, and one angelfish, and grandmother to one super-cute granddog. She calls Coquitlam home until the summertime, when she treks to the Alberta prairies to visit family and learn more about Cree culture and tradition.

Join author Wanda John Kehewin for an in-depth conversation about Hopeless in Hope in this video interview. 

Resource type: Book (Fiction/Poetry)

Age recommendation: Grades 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, Post Secondary

Keywords: Aspects of Indigenous Cultures, Smudging, Contemporary Setting, Diverse and Inclusive Representation, Literary Studies, Social Emotional Learning, Self-Expression, Creative Writing, and Art, Social Justice, Self-Esteem and Self-Reliance, Strong Female Characters, cooking, fire, magic, anxiety, family, familial bonds, nohkum, mother, abandonment, brother, sister, alcholism, alcoholic, alcohol, writing, write, comfort, system, group home, Anxiety, Depression and Suicide, Addiction, Family Separation, Foster Care and the Child Welfare System, Intergenerational Trauma, Poverty, Residential Schools

Year of publication: 2023

Publisher information: High Water Press