"Old School Indian" is an irreverent exploration of the power and secrets of family, the capacity for healing and intimacy and the effects of history.
The book introduces us to Abe Jacobs who is, as white people say, a Mohawk Indian from the Saint Regis Tribe. He left the reservation at 18 and hasn’t looked back until now.
Now at age 43 he's suffering from a rare disease that looks like it’s going to kill him. Running from the diagnosis and a failing marriage, he returns to the rez to see his Uncle Budge, a healer and a drunk.
The book is funny at times, heartbreaking at others. There are sidebars dealing with Native American life and history and poems that lay bear Abe’s innermost feelings.
Abe’s illness leaves gaping wounds on his skin - but those wounds extend deep into his soul. Throughout the book the looming question is: How do we heal? How do we walk away from a past that hurts?
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