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The Other Joseph
A masterful depiction of a life driven off the rails by tragedy and sin—a man now summoned by the legacy of a beloved, lost brother to embark on a journey in search toward understanding, happiness, and redemption.
Haunted by the disappearance of his older brother Tommy in the first Gulf War, the tragic deaths of his parents, and the felony conviction that has branded him for a decade, Roy Joseph has labored in lonesome exile—and under the ever-watchful eyes of the law—moving between oil rigs off the coast of Louisiana and an Airstream trailer he shares with his dog.
Then, on the cusp of his thirtieth birthday, Roy is contacted by a teenage girl from California claiming to be his lost brother's biological daughter. Yearning for connection and the prospect of family, Roy embarks on a journey across America, visiting childhood haunts in the South to confront his troubled memories and history, and making a stop in Nevada to call on a retired Navy SEAL who may hold the answer to Tommy's fate. The ultimate destination is San Francisco, where a potential Russian bride and his long-lost niece await, and Roy may finally recover the Joseph line.
With The Other Joseph, Skip Horack delivers a powerful, spellbinding tale of a man nearly defeated by life who is given one last chance at redemption—one last shot to find meaning and alter the course of his solitary existence
Haunted by the disappearance of his older brother Tommy in the first Gulf War, the tragic deaths of his parents, and the felony conviction that has branded him for a decade, Roy Joseph has labored in lonesome exile—and under the ever-watchful eyes of the law—moving between oil rigs off the coast of Louisiana and an Airstream trailer he shares with his dog.
Then, on the cusp of his thirtieth birthday, Roy is contacted by a teenage girl from California claiming to be his lost brother's biological daughter. Yearning for connection and the prospect of family, Roy embarks on a journey across America, visiting childhood haunts in the South to confront his troubled memories and history, and making a stop in Nevada to call on a retired Navy SEAL who may hold the answer to Tommy's fate. The ultimate destination is San Francisco, where a potential Russian bride and his long-lost niece await, and Roy may finally recover the Joseph line.
With The Other Joseph, Skip Horack delivers a powerful, spellbinding tale of a man nearly defeated by life who is given one last chance at redemption—one last shot to find meaning and alter the course of his solitary existence
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 7, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 26, 2015
3.5 stars.
This book is completely out of my genre! I picked it after I spotted the beautiful cover on the GR rec list (that I mostly ignore). Yes, I've been somewhat hypnotized by the cover!
It started amazing! I loved Roy from the very beginning of the book.
At about 25% it got a little slow, and very high on the details, that I had to skim a bit here and there.
But the story is a beautiful one, and i ended up hooked and rooting for Roy to find some peace of mind, and his happy place.
I won't spoil it by telling you if he got there, but if you like to read about someone going on a road trip to find himself, you'll enjoy it.
This book is completely out of my genre! I picked it after I spotted the beautiful cover on the GR rec list (that I mostly ignore). Yes, I've been somewhat hypnotized by the cover!
It started amazing! I loved Roy from the very beginning of the book.
At about 25% it got a little slow, and very high on the details, that I had to skim a bit here and there.
But the story is a beautiful one, and i ended up hooked and rooting for Roy to find some peace of mind, and his happy place.
I won't spoil it by telling you if he got there, but if you like to read about someone going on a road trip to find himself, you'll enjoy it.
February 15, 2015
Great characters. Full of tension and to-the-point. Effortlessly readable. Really beautiful sentences. There's a lot of life in this novel.
May 1, 2015
The Other Joseph is a beautiful and heartbreaking novel about loneliness, our need for family, and how much events outside our control can alter the course of our lives. Horack's intricately drawn characters are flawed but very sympathetic, and his skill with setting takes us vividly from oil rigs to Nevada to San Francisco.
April 25, 2021
This is a great book. I really felt for Roy, the main character. This is the story of a man who barely allows himself to exist in the world after experiencing significant personal tragedy & a miscarriage of justice at a young age. It’s a story of hope & dreams of a better life & the importance of family, of being connected & belonging. I recommend this book
December 19, 2017
First book from Horack that I’ve read. Nice, quick read. Sorta fizzled after the halfway point but I was far enough in that I simply finished. Would recommend it.
September 3, 2018
I really wanted to enjoy the book. The plot seemed so interesting. I kept moving forward but the sentence structure just kept hanging me up. Maybe this is a new way of writing? The incomplete sentences took away from any enjoyment of reading the story. The actual plot was good. I did finish the book. However, the writing style killed it for me.
October 14, 2020
A compelling journey through the life and inside the mind of a man searching for some kind of peace after the death of his brother. Horack has a smooth style, clean prose, and sometimes unique (but never distracting) writing style that kept me absorbed through a surprising ending.
June 27, 2021
Intriguing and occasionally profound. Layered, endearing, and troubled protagonist. Really sagged in the middle — I struggled to glean the deeper meaning behind Roy’s Nevada sojourn with Lionel Purcell, among other tertiary plot lines.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2022
A good telling of an individuals life. It was a refreshing read because of how it didn't so much feel like you were reading a "story', as much as it felt like you were watching his life progress. Lots of movement and diversity with the written environment and characters, keeps the reader interested and feeling fresh with each chapter. Pretty good plot.
May 26, 2023
A young man who is dealing with the death of his parents and the disappearance/death of his brother discovers his brother may have left a child behind. He goes on a journey to discover the truth and to sort out his many issues.
November 18, 2023
About a 29 yo man trying to connect with a previously unknown daughter of his deceased older brother. He's handicapped with a Sex Offender conviction for an incident when he was 19 with a 16 yo neighbor. ~ I liked it ok but the telling didn't grab me.
November 10, 2025
Wonderful story
This is the first book I've read by this author. It was a great story.
Very good plot and great character development.
Two brothers each with a story to tell but also completely interconnected.
There is sorrow and joy and love and forgiveness. Also friendship and
This is the first book I've read by this author. It was a great story.
Very good plot and great character development.
Two brothers each with a story to tell but also completely interconnected.
There is sorrow and joy and love and forgiveness. Also friendship and
August 13, 2018
A simple tale of love and loss.
October 6, 2020
I enjoyed the author’s direct, no nonsense prose, and enjoyed this road-trip, coming of age story.
September 15, 2021
A fast read with a surprise ending. A nice break from what I have been reading lately but not a book I would highly recommend.
Three stars waxing
Three stars waxing
January 7, 2026
Brothers for life
March 25, 2015
Every so often I need to take a step back from my usual genres and pick up something completely different. Skip Horack's new book, The Other Joseph, offered up a great opportunity to do just that.
Roy Joseph has lost most of his life - his beloved older brother Tommy died in the Gulf War, his parents are both dead and he lives within the narrow confines of a life constricted by a felony conviction. He's chosen to live in a remote area with only a dog for company and he works an isolated job on the oil rigs. Roy has exiled himself from life.
When a young woman contacts him and say that his brother Tommy was her father, he sees a chance - a chance to reconnect with life again, to redeem himself, to perhaps be happy.
Roy's journey physically takes him from Louisiana to San Francisco. He visits locales from their childhood and calls on those who knew his brother along the way. Broken and wounded characters litter the road between Louisiana and San Francisco.
Horack's prose are rich and powerful. They are stark and spare, underlining Roy's solitude. I was overwhelmed by Roy's life - his broken, isolated existence. It was just so very, very sad. I wasn't able to read the book straight through - I simply had to read in small doses. I wanted so badly for the the trip to be Roy's redemption. And of course you're asking - was it? It's hard to say - the ending is not what I wanted at all - Horack did surprise me. I'll have to go with an ambiguous yes and no answer.
The Other Joseph was a moving, eloquent read - one that will leave echoes with you after the last page is turned
Roy Joseph has lost most of his life - his beloved older brother Tommy died in the Gulf War, his parents are both dead and he lives within the narrow confines of a life constricted by a felony conviction. He's chosen to live in a remote area with only a dog for company and he works an isolated job on the oil rigs. Roy has exiled himself from life.
When a young woman contacts him and say that his brother Tommy was her father, he sees a chance - a chance to reconnect with life again, to redeem himself, to perhaps be happy.
Roy's journey physically takes him from Louisiana to San Francisco. He visits locales from their childhood and calls on those who knew his brother along the way. Broken and wounded characters litter the road between Louisiana and San Francisco.
Horack's prose are rich and powerful. They are stark and spare, underlining Roy's solitude. I was overwhelmed by Roy's life - his broken, isolated existence. It was just so very, very sad. I wasn't able to read the book straight through - I simply had to read in small doses. I wanted so badly for the the trip to be Roy's redemption. And of course you're asking - was it? It's hard to say - the ending is not what I wanted at all - Horack did surprise me. I'll have to go with an ambiguous yes and no answer.
The Other Joseph was a moving, eloquent read - one that will leave echoes with you after the last page is turned
May 31, 2015
What a good story. Roy Joseph has lost his brother in the Gulf war & a body has never been found. Their small family of 4, his parents & he & his brother has been shattered. Then his parents die in a tragic accident, so he feels so alone in the world. He works on oil rigs, making some friends, but never close to anybody. One day he gets an e-mail from a teenager in California saying he is her uncle. Could there really be someone to call family?
The story follows him traveling to Louisiana, meeting up with an ex-Navy Seal who worked alongside his brother. He hopes he can find out what actually happened. Then off to San Francisco to maybe meet up with his niece. And along the way, maybe he can find a bride, someone to have close to him?
The end of the story is so awesome, such a twist to this tale of Roy Joseph. I loved it!
The story follows him traveling to Louisiana, meeting up with an ex-Navy Seal who worked alongside his brother. He hopes he can find out what actually happened. Then off to San Francisco to maybe meet up with his niece. And along the way, maybe he can find a bride, someone to have close to him?
The end of the story is so awesome, such a twist to this tale of Roy Joseph. I loved it!
November 19, 2015
At age nineteen Roy Joseph's older brother was lost in Operation Desert Storm, his parents were killed in a car accident, when a neighbor girl befriended him and they fell into bed. It earned Roy a felony conviction. At twenty-nine he works on an oil rig with a dog his only friend. Then he hears from a teenage girl who claims to be his brother's child. He sets off on a quest to learn more about his brother and to claim the only family he has left. The story is sad but compelling as we root for Roy.
September 10, 2015
This isn't a summary or review of this book, but more of a pondering of the power a good author has in creating such believable characters, in forming tight moods & tones for a story that it leaves the reader changed. Maybe life altering, maybe for a spell, but changed. This for me was one of those books. I like sad, lonely stories. All this "happily ever after" is good, but then the real & hard stuff of living stays with me longer.
June 3, 2015
I received this book for free as part of the Goodreads First giveaway. I don't know how I feel about this book... if it is a true story then I can understand why parts of it were dry. It felt like there wasn't a point to the story and the preface just convinced me that Thomas' story would be more exciting to read. I just couldn't get into this book.
January 26, 2016
Many books about a bad boy leave little room for redemption, but this novel about a man whose brother disappeared in the Iraq War offers more than a slender hope. Along the way the book's digressions reveal keen insights into American culture, notably when a troop of boy scouts makes an imaginary invasion of a war memorial. A quick and satisfying read.
April 2, 2015
Felt like a man's book to me - don't know why. Had a hard time accepting the characters.
July 28, 2015
Raw and tragic
May 13, 2016
Amazing story that was unique and didn't end how I expected it to. Roy's life was a mess and I was rooting for him the whole time but life doesn't always hand out cookies to the good guys.
April 23, 2017
A very good story about two brothers' different journeys.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews