BOOK SYNOPSIS
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 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.
WANDA JOHN-KEHEWIN
Wanda John-Kehewin is a Cree writer who came to Vancouver, BC from the prairies, on a Greyhound when she was nineteen and pregnant — carrying a bag of chips, thirty dollars and a bit of hope. Wanda has been writing about the near decimation of Indigenous culture, language and tradition as a means to process history and trauma that allows her to stand in her truth and to share that truth openly. Wanda has published poetry, children’s books, graphic novels and a middle grade reader with hopes of reaching others who are trying to make sense of the world around them, especially if you think you come from nowhere and don’t belong either. With many years of travelling the healing path (well mostly stumbling), she brings personal experience of healing to share with others. Wanda is a mother of five children , one dog, two cats, one Angelfish, and one super cute grand dog.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Website: https://www.wandajohnkehewin.com/
Facebook: @WKehewin
Email: sweetgrasswriter@gmail.com
BIBLIOGRAPHY
In the Dog House (2013)
Secen Sacred Truths: Poems (2018)
Resurgence: Engaging With Indigenous Narratives and Cultural Expressions In and Beyond the Classroom (2022)
Visions of the Crow (2023)
Spells, Wishes, and the Talking Dead (2023)
Hopeless in Hope (2023)
Miya Wears Orange (2025)
