Synopsis

#1 National Bestseller From Hockey Night in Canadas Scott Oake, a raw and honest memoir about his sons struggle with opioid use and how he turned a fathers worst nightmare into a second chance for others battling addiction.A fathers love. A devastating drug crisis. A stirring call to action. When veteran broadcaster Scott Oake first held his infant son, Bruce, in his arms, he never imagined that Bruce would become a statistic in the losing battle to opioid abuse. In those early days, Scott, a new father, watched Bruce with awe, marveling at the potential of his funny, charismatic boy. As Bruce got older, though, he struggled to fit in at school and began showing signs of having ADHD, including a streak of impulsiveness that often got him into trouble. Scott and his wife, Anne, did their best to support him, and for a time, he found community and belonging in boxing and local rap battles. But when Bruce was pulled into a world of drugs and gangs, Scott and Anne experienced a crash course in the reality of loving someone battling substance use disorder. Then one quiet day in 2011, Scott got the phone call that every parent dreads: Bruce had accidentally overdosed. At just twenty-five, Scotts vibrant, creative, first-born son was gone forever. It was a loss that could have broken a man, a marriage, a familybut Scott, Anne, and their younger son, Darcy, instead turned the worst day of their lives into a way to help the thousands of Canadians struggling with addiction. After nearly a decade of fundraising and battling red tape and political machinations they launched the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre, a free, revolutionary treatment centre staffed by addicts and alcoholics in recovery. For the Love of a Son is the story of a fathers unconditional love for his son. Above all, its the story of a young man who never got to grow up and a family who gives others the chance to find their way home.

About The Author

Scott Oakeis aGemini Awardwinning sportscaster for CBC Sports,Sportsnet, andHockey Night in Canada. Raised in Sydney, Nova Scotia, he began his broadcasting career at Memorial Universitys campus radio station before going on to work with CBC for five decades. Oake has covered Canadas biggest sports moments, including the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, CFLfootball, in addition to his longstanding role as part ofHockey Night in Canada. He is included on the roll of honour of the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association and has been appointed a Member of both theOrder of Manitoba and the Order of Canada.

This is a standard paperback/soft cover version.