Old School Indian

A Most Anticipated Book of 2025: Brit + Co | Debutiful

"A novel of pure heart and mastery." -Morgan Talty, bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez and Fire Exit

"An inspired novel by an author whose voice absolutely sizzles on the page . . . A moving story of self-discovery that journeys through the crucibles of sickness, history, identity, family, and loss-all told by one of the most inventive, funny, brash narrators you'll ever find." -Nathan Hill, New York Times bestselling author of Wellness and The Nix

A coming-of-middle-age novel about an Ahkwesáhsne man's reluctant return home and what it takes to heal.

Abe Jacobs is Kanien'kehá:ka from Ahkwesáhsne-or, as white people say, a Mohawk Indian from the Saint Regis Tribe. At eighteen Abe left the reservation where he was raised and never looked back.

Now forty-three, Abe is suffering from a rare disease-one his doctors in Miami believe will kill him. Running from his diagnosis and a failing marriage, Abe returns to the Rez, where he's convinced to undergo a healing at the hands of his Great Uncle Budge. But Budge-a wry recovered alcoholic prone to wearing punk t-shirts-isn't all that convincing. And Abe's time off the Rez has made him a thorough skeptic.

To heal, Abe will undertake a revelatory journey, confronting the parts of himself he's hidden ever since he left home and learning to cultivate hope, even at his darkest hour.

Delivered with crackling wit, Old School Indian is a striking exploration of the power and secrets of family, the capacity for healing and catharsis, and the ripple effects of history and culture.