Many Canadian sports fans know who Scott Oake is. He was a familiar face and voice on Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet, and many other events including the Olympics. In For the Love of a Son, Scott uses his formidable story telling skills to tell the story of his son, Bruce, who passed away from a drug overdose, at the age of 25.
I received an advance electronic copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley.
There are some spoilers in this review.
As a father of three, I empathized with the struggles of Scott and his wife Anne to help their son with his issues. Bruce was a handful when he was growing up, being diagnosed with ADHD and a form of Tourette’s, and he began using drugs in his late teens. Things spiraled from there, and despite their best efforts, he overdosed and died on March 28, 2011.
I believe Scott told Bruce’s story with honesty. Parents make decisions for their kids with the information they have at the time, and sometimes you find out later that you could have made a better choice. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say, but Scott said that they always made their decisions with love for their son, and you can’t do better than that.
I’m very glad that the book didn’t end with Bruce’s death. Scott and Anne took their son’s memory and honoured it by founding the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre here in Winnipeg. The book talks about the many challenges they faced on the many years between the idea and the centre’s opening in 2021.
I can’t say I enjoyed the book, given the subject matter, but I am glad that I read it. It’s an important story and For the Love of a Son is well written.
For the Love of a Son comes out on January 21, 2025. You can pre-order it at McNally Robinson, Indigo or Amazon. Read more at Simon and Schuster, the publisher.
Please consider making a donation to the Bruce Oake Foundation to support their work.