All the Way: My Life on Ice

by Jordin Tootoo

The bestselling story of a true warrior's toughest battle, now in paperback
     It seemed as though nothing could stop Jordin Tootoo on the ice. The captain, a fan favourite, a star in international competition, Tootoo was always a leader. And when he was drafted by Nashville in 2001 and made the Predators out of camp in 2003, he became a leader in another way--as the first player of Inuk descent to suit up in the NHL.
    All the challenges and pressure would have been more than enough for any rookie, but Tootoo faced something far more difficult: the tragic loss of his older brother before his first shift for the Predators. Though he played through it, Tootoo suffered from many of the same problems that have plagued so many people from his community. In 2010, he checked himself into rehab for alcohol addiction. It seemed as though a promising career had ended too soon.
     But that's not the way Tootoo saw it and not the way it would end. Told in Tootoo's bold voice, with contributions by Stephen Brunt, arguably one of the best sportswriters, All the Way is the searing, honest tale of a young man who has risen to every challenge but all too nearly fell short in the toughest game of all.

Genres: Sports, Hockey, Nonfiction, Biography, Biography Memoir, Memoir, Indigenous

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 2014

Reviews

[Jolene · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting...and while he's certainly made a name for himself, given back to his community, and overcome some obstacles, a writer he is not.

[Geeks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished this book quickly. Not bad but I found it repetitive.

[Dasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book broke my heart in so many ways. Hearing about Tootoo's personal life, particularly his relationship with his brother and mother, was raw and heartbreaking. He also exposes so many systemic issues that continue to affect the north, even if he doesn't explicitly tie it to settler colonialism it is an easy connection to make. Unlike many hockey autobiographies I've read this one focuses much less on giving play-by-plays on the ice and more time talking about off-ice life and politics. My one issue is that of misogyny. He opens one chapter mentioning that he's called women broads and chicks and he's sorry if he's offended anyone but he continues the chapter using that language to describe all the "broads" in contrast to his future wife. I get that he's unapologetically himself and I appreciate the honesty but the lack of reflection on that part felt very icky, particularly because of how misogyny is interwoven so deeply within the hockey world.

[Leanne Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book. I lived in Rankin Inlet, Churchill, Baker Lake, Yellowknife and Edmonton. All the places Jordin talks about in the book. I experienced many of the same things he did growing up in Rankin. So this was a walk down memory lane for me. This could've been my story. Except for the professional hockey player part....

[Francis Rochon · Rating 5 out of 5]

L’histoire de Jordin est réellement inspirante. Une persévérance exemplaire pour tous les jeunes joueurs d’hockey qui tentent d’atteindre les plus hauts niveaux, surtout pour ceux provenant des plus petites communautés du Grand Nord canadien.

[Linda Flanagan77 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I have much respect for the adversity he overcame in his life and the courage it takes to tell that story raw and unfiltered, the book was a little tepid. Yeah, I understand that sports guys swear but the constant gratuitous F-bombs were a distraction. As was the term "broad." Show some respect. The book was very repetitive in parts and not very well written. Kinda like a high schooler's essay "What I Wanna Be When I Grow Up." Pass on it.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second time reading this book as a part of a book club I'm in. I enjoyed the experience of analyzing and discussing this book a lot. I wasn't very interested in the hockey aspects of this novel, but I did enjoy the discussions of mental health challenges and substance abuse problems

[Darcy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very repetitious...too much profanity...

[Nemo29 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly a remarkable story about Jordin Tootoo - who is the first Inuit born/raised player to be apart of Team Canada's Junior hockey club & the NHL. Tootoo focuses on his early days living in Rankin Inlit. He highlights a constant cycle of mental & physical abuse from his parents - influenced by addiction. In addition, Jordin's story focuses on pain, suffering, racism, success/triumph (in no particular order). This autobiography is truly authentic - & is definitely one of the best Canadian/Indigenous hockey orientated stories of it's kind.

[Andrew Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful story. The strength, physical and mental, that this man has is incredible.

[Dsinglet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jordin writes a book that is very honest and courageous. An Inuit from Rankin Inlet, raised by alcoholic and abusive parents, he and his brother escape to the ice to get away from the craziness at home. They progress in their hockey playing into two tough and rough players. They eventually work their way South with hockey and as they stand on the threshold of NHL careers, Terry commits suicide. Jordin is left to carry on. He soon loses himself in grief, booze and women. He signs with Nashville to become the first Inuit to play in the NHL. But his partying begins to affect his career and he is sent to rehab. This is perhaps the most honest account of a life I have read. It is written in his words and has the power of grace and courage of a survivor.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could have easily read this book cover to cover in one sitting. Toot is brutally honest about his life, from his upbringing to his path to addiction to his brother's suicide to his conduct on and off the ice. At times, it was hard to read given some of his references (in particular, the word 'broads' made me wince). But he is a brave man to lay his life bare while still in the throes of his career. He does not preach, he tells his story. And as the first Inuk player in the NHL, his story is entirely its own. He is blazing a trail for young people from the north and showing them that if they have a passion they should follow it. Nothing is impossible. The writing leaves a little to be desired, but the result is the feeling that Tootoo is telling you his story in his own words. (less)

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I inhaled this in two days and that was with trying to pace myself. Jordin makes me proud to be Canadian. He's honest in his story and his storytelling - his voice came through authentically, like that of every hockey player I've ever thrown a vodka-club at! His struggle with that ol' demon booze hit close to home as I'm also a Canadian Gen Yer who grew up in a war zone caused by it and then skated around my own addiction before Lohanning it to sobriety. I might be sort of in love with him but thats beside the point...and probably has something to do with how he described my hometown arena with the word "Smarties".

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me rethink my values in life and to stay true to myself. A great read.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how blunt and to the point he is.

[Joey Mueller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone in their lifetime has had to find ways around certain roadblocks keeping them from success. This autobiography about by Tootoo is an exact representation of how everyone has felt at least one time in their life. All the Way follows the life of Jordin Tootoo, a hockey player from Inuk descent, and overall shows all of the personal roadblocks he endured in and got around to reach his ultimate goal, to be a professional player. Ranging from when he was a young boy skating out on the ponds all the way to when he was an adult playing the game, he had to overcome many issues that were real and relatable to.
Me personally, I found this story to be very interesting and I was able to relate to similar occurrences in my athletic career to his and I thought that was very cool. All around, I really enjoyed reading this book and learning about a famous player of one of the sports i find very interesting and what I love to watch and learn about. Although all of the information and facts about him were very real and relevant, some of the story you could tell were kind of poorly written do to the fact this was written by him, a non author. Overall I believe his purpose for writing this was just to show that anyone can and is able to be great and succeed in their sport that they love. No matter the circumstances, everyone has a chance to be great in whatever they strive to be, and this story is a great motivational/uplifting way of telling everyone this exactly. Through parts of the story as well, many scenes were written so well that i seemed to almost be in that exact situation with Jordin due to this being a first person POV of his life and what he had to overcome. My favorite scene in the story was when he finally got drafted to play in the NHL and he was rejoicing with his family about the new success he now has gained.
Overall I would recommend this story to just about anyone who enjoys reading and learning about normal people doing big things. Jordin had to overcome a lot just like millions of other americans and this story gives hope for all people. I believe that everyone should read this story to help them become better people and strive to become someone great.

[Ben Shore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jordin Tootoo has an interesting story. The first Inul NHL player, a live full of hardships and triumphs. His life is bursting with possibilities and his own evolution as a player and person is inviting. It's a shame the writing is sub-par, with some repetitive passages that I found were told in a strange order.

Overall, I'm happy I read it than anything as a fan of hockey and mental health awareness, but feel like a few more edits would be helpful. Perhaps more time should have been focused on Jordins introspection about the things he experienced throughout the memoir.

[Ryan Bessey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished the same day I started. Brutally honest & no sugar coating Jordin’s upbringing and journey to the present day. Vulgar but it is a part of who Jordin is/his way to survive the cards he was dealt. Would recommend.

[Phil Italiano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read. Some parts are pretty stagnant and failed to grasp me as a reader.

Best part was reading about Jordin’s journey through rehab and understanding how he overcame his inner demons and all of the personal psychology associated with that. Seems like a good guy and a hell of a teammate.

[Erin L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still processing my thoughts on this. It's a powerful book about Tootoo's roots, who he is as a person and a huge cultural divide in this country. And a bit about hockey of course.

[B K · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If you put your mind to it, the sky's the limit."

A peak into Jordin's journey as a son, a brother, a husband and a professional hockey player. While always staying true to his roots, he became the ultimate teammate and role-model for his indigenous community and the struggles he overcame and continues to overcome on a daily basis are very relatable and inspiring. Life truly is a collection of experiences that we learn from day-in and day-out. And away from the materialism, the superficial and the fake, it's only the deeply personal that truly matters.

A page-turner written in deeply personal short chapters in the first person and brilliantly narrated by Brunt.

[Kaela Kohnke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very eye opening to the hockey world and possibly the life that many hockey players face with addition. Jordin shares his struggles with addiction and the many saddening events that have evolved the derailment of his life in the NHL. Overall, an amazing read and I truly enjoyed every minute.

[Tammy Shearing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raw and real. Jordin holds nothing back

[Lolz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading about the arctic and the people who live there - nice coincidence that today is Nunavut Day

[Cody Lasko · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a quick read, even quicker if you're a hockey fan, and quicker yet if you have ever had even the slightest amount of interest in Jordin Tootoo and his story. But that doesn't mean this isn't a wonderful book to read. Not by a long shot.

With remarkably precise and poignant brevity, Tootoo unapologetically recounts all the various notable moments of his life to weave a tale of desperate struggle, triumphant achievement, and unfathomable loss. The result is a tale Hemmingway would have been proud of to see written, and even prouder to have known it was all the true experiences of one man.

Recommended for just about anybody, hockey fan or not, because this book is a tribute to so much more than a mere game. This book is a tribute to an entire nation of people with emphasis on those conquering the far north. This book is a tribute to all those battling deeply ingrained issues of drug and alcohol abuse both personally and within their families.

And most importantly this book is a tribute to Terence Tootoo.

Jordin deserves all the credit in the world. I commend him for having gone all the way. Read the book and that line won't seem as horribly cheesy a pun as you first think it to be...

[Felix · Rating 4 out of 5]

It could have been a 5 star if it wasn't for a few different reasons... Still very much worth reading!

Firstly, there is a lot of repetition, not only between chapters, but sometimes within a couple sentences

I also wish less time was spent doing comparisons... Especially early into the book, there's a lot of rambling about how kids have it harder in the North than down South. I tjust don't think it was necessary

So basically, I wish Mr.Brunt had done a little more editing, I did appreciate the foreword for each chapters though.

Now that's out of the way, I really enjoyed Tootoo's bio, he's always been a favorite of mine when I was younger and it was really nice to have that insight from his personal life and carreer

[Shannon Poteet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the honestly that flows through every page of Jordin's story. He's not afraid to share his struggles, heartaches, nor pain. He doesn't hide from things most people spend their live trying to avoid. He lives his life the only way he knows how: forward. Regardless of how much parts of it may hurt. He loves big. He doesn't back down from a fight. He owns his mistakes. He values who he is and where he comes from. And he loves the game.

I really enjoyed reading Jordin's story. He has a unique ability to find meaning and hope in even the hardest situations. I love people who see the world the way Jordin does. I've always loved him on the ice. After reading this, I have a new appreciation for who he is off the ice as well!

[Shane Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was insightful, learning about the path of the first professional Inuit player in the NHL from his days playing in Rankin Inlet in the far north of Canada to his junior years and career in Nashville and his signing just before the lockout in Detroit. It didn’t follow the end of his pro career as it was written while he was still playing, but I really enjoyed his outlook on not just the sport, but his struggle with alcoholism and the suicide of his older brother Terrence. Highly recommended.

[Aj Woznesensky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an awesome read!

I had no idea Tootoo had such a crazy upbringing, or what kind of obstacles he had to face to get to where he is today. I have always respected Jordin Tootoo as a player but after reading this book I respect him on a whole new level as a person.

If you love sports biographies as I do, then this is a must read!!!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it because he talks about places and lifestyles that I am familiar with and don't get to read about often.

If you don't understand hockey, you'll miss out on part of this.

But if you understand the north, and addictions, you will become immersed in this. Jordin speaks easily and candidly about his upbringing and how he fought his demons.