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The Power of Story: On Truth, the Trickster, and New Fictions for a New Era
A CBC BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF 2022 • Longlisted for the First Nations Communities READ Award
Award-winning Indigenous author Harold R. Johnson discusses the promise and potential of storytelling. Approached by an ecumenical society representing many faiths, from Judeo-Christians to fellow members of First Nations, Harold R. Johnson agreed to host a group who wanted to hear him speak about the power of storytelling. This book is the outcome of that gathering. In The Power of Story , Johnson explains the role of storytelling in every aspect of human life, from personal identity to history and the social contracts that structure our societies, and illustrates how we can direct its potential to re-create and reform not only our own lives, but the life we share. Companionable, clear-eyed, and, above all, optimistic, Johnson’s message is both a dire warning and a direct invitation to each of us to imagine and create, together, the world we want to live in.
Award-winning Indigenous author Harold R. Johnson discusses the promise and potential of storytelling. Approached by an ecumenical society representing many faiths, from Judeo-Christians to fellow members of First Nations, Harold R. Johnson agreed to host a group who wanted to hear him speak about the power of storytelling. This book is the outcome of that gathering. In The Power of Story , Johnson explains the role of storytelling in every aspect of human life, from personal identity to history and the social contracts that structure our societies, and illustrates how we can direct its potential to re-create and reform not only our own lives, but the life we share. Companionable, clear-eyed, and, above all, optimistic, Johnson’s message is both a dire warning and a direct invitation to each of us to imagine and create, together, the world we want to live in.
192 pages, Paperback
Published October 25, 2022
26 people are currently reading
400 people want to read
About the author
Harold R. Johnson
15 books87 followersBorn and raised in Northern Saskatchewan, Harold Johnson has a Master of Law degree from Harvard University. He has served in the Canadian Navy, and worked in mining and logging. Johnson is the author of five novels and one work of non-fiction, which are largely set in northern Saskatchewan against a background of traditional Cree mythology. The Cast Stone (2011) won the Saskatchewan Book Award for Fiction.
Johnson practiced law as a Crown Prosecutor in La Ronge, Saskatchewan, and balanced that with operating his family's traditional trap line using a dog team.
Johnson died in early February, 2022.
Johnson practiced law as a Crown Prosecutor in La Ronge, Saskatchewan, and balanced that with operating his family's traditional trap line using a dog team.
Johnson died in early February, 2022.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
October 25, 2022
What stories have we been told about our existence, our systems, us as a species? And what stories do we tell ourselves? Harold R. Johnson’s powerful last work should be required reading for all of us as we deal with the existential crises facing our societies. A reckoning, and at the same time a healing balm, Johnson forces the reader to confront the uncomfortable, question our narratives, and take the power and care to write and rewrite our own stories for a better future together.
February 7, 2023
This is such an important read, it feels like something everyone should read if stories are important to you.
December 29, 2022
There are moments, in our fast-paced, technology-driven society where we might forget both the power and the importance of story. Humans are innately storytellers. Science has demonstrated that we comprehend complex topics better through narrative rather than hard data. The Power of Story makes the argument that stories can unite us across demographic borders and have become increasingly important in our globalized world.
Not only does the book explore the importance of storytelling to human nature, it explores how storytelling has influenced and even structure human society. Through his exploration, Johnson demonstrates the impact stories have on us as a species and how they can direct our society going forward. The Power of Story is a fascinating read that forms a fine legacy for Johnson, a master storyteller in his own right.
Not only does the book explore the importance of storytelling to human nature, it explores how storytelling has influenced and even structure human society. Through his exploration, Johnson demonstrates the impact stories have on us as a species and how they can direct our society going forward. The Power of Story is a fascinating read that forms a fine legacy for Johnson, a master storyteller in his own right.
July 25, 2022
This book was absolutely stunning. It blew the lid off of everything I thought I knew about story and storytelling, while also confirming for me that waist-deep in the river of story is exactly where I belong. Highly recommended for anyone who engages with storytelling in any way - I learned so much about philosophy, history, psychology, mythology.... and all in a simple, understandable, relatable way. Johnson invites us to the fireside to bask in his wisdom, and I for one drank deeply of it along with the tea he offered us as his guests. Pick this one up.
April 28, 2023
Read this book alongside Thomas King's The Truth About Stories. King Says, the truth about stories is that's all we are. And Johnson says, "I am story. You are story." These two books compliment each other and will encourage you to change your story. Buy copies for those nearest and dearest. You will be giving the gift of story. :-)
March 22, 2024
Loved this little collection of stories told by a mixed Cree and Swedish Man from La Ronge. He says that life is just the narrative we tell ourselves and in this ever changing world, nothing has an ultimate truth. Stories are an important part of our life, and what is even more important is being aware of how we tell our stories - for better or for worse.
Some of my favourite passages:
“‘Nikosis, you have to learn this. You have to learn how to trap, you have to learn how to hunt how to fish, you have to learn how to make your living off the land in case anything ever happens in that other world’… knowledge was what gave me the confidence to do all things I have done, including going to Harvard. I remember the first thing I packed in my car before heading to Cambridge, Massachusetts, was my camping gear and my tent.”
“I know many people, myself included, who have fled back onto the land to recover. It seems here in Northern Saskatchewan if you say ‘land’ and ‘healing’ in the same sentence, you don’t have to explain anymore. Many of us have at one time, or have a relative we know, who simply goes to the trapline when things are not going very well.”
Some of my favourite passages:
“‘Nikosis, you have to learn this. You have to learn how to trap, you have to learn how to hunt how to fish, you have to learn how to make your living off the land in case anything ever happens in that other world’… knowledge was what gave me the confidence to do all things I have done, including going to Harvard. I remember the first thing I packed in my car before heading to Cambridge, Massachusetts, was my camping gear and my tent.”
“I know many people, myself included, who have fled back onto the land to recover. It seems here in Northern Saskatchewan if you say ‘land’ and ‘healing’ in the same sentence, you don’t have to explain anymore. Many of us have at one time, or have a relative we know, who simply goes to the trapline when things are not going very well.”
April 10, 2023
One of the best books I have ever read. Enlightening. It should be on everyone's list.
February 3, 2023
What could be better than sitting around a fire in the northern woods with Harold as your host. That dream may be just that. . . A dream, but this book gives you a story option and is that not quite fine. But this story has power and may change you so be aware.
April 10, 2025
II read this book again on 10 April because I wanted to hear it again. It’s a good book and I appreciate what he has to say about visiting.
January 10, 2023
A revolutionary piece of literature. The power this book holds in the teachings of story and perception, and the educational aspect of the indigenous culture is never ending. A quick and easy, and very fascinating read.
August 4, 2023
This is a fabulous work by a gifted storyteller about the role that stories play in shaping our understanding of agency, colonization, and justice. It's conversational (Johnson speaking to a mixed group of Indigenous and settler folks around a fire) and powerful.
December 18, 2022
A story you must hear
An illuminating telling that explores how stories shape our worldviews. I found it very poignant and relevant to the state of the society I inhabit.
An illuminating telling that explores how stories shape our worldviews. I found it very poignant and relevant to the state of the society I inhabit.
August 1, 2023
Like air and water.
This book isn’t good. It isn’t fantastic. It is necessary. We cannot survive without its stories. If you can’t read, find me and I’ll share it with you.
This book isn’t good. It isn’t fantastic. It is necessary. We cannot survive without its stories. If you can’t read, find me and I’ll share it with you.
August 29, 2023
I am sorry I never met Harold Johnson in person, as I loved everything I ever read which he authored, whether fiction or non-fiction (which are not so different after all) - and had great respect for him as both a legal scholar and practitioner and an indigenous man who was at home living in the bush. His wife wrote in the forward to this book: "Harold passed away February 9, 2022, a couple of weeks after completing the substantive edits for this book. My husband was a brilliant man and gifted storyteller. His last words are powerful and are dedicated to all peoples. He encourages us to think about where we came from and the future we choose. We have the ability to change our story". There is so much wisdom in this book, explaining how everything is story (even property law), and ranging from alterations to the predominant colonization story (try "the main reason Europeans stumbled upon the Americas in search of perfume and spice is because they stank and their food was rotten and tasted bad") to the importance of writing your own lifestory ("That moment when you know this is your last breath, your last heartbeat, your last thought... If in this moment you have regrets, it’s your own fault. You were the author. But if in that defining moment you look back and say, “I am satisfied,” then you have written a masterpiece."). This book is truly a gift to us, and an acknowledgement to the land itself, and a direct invitation to all of us write our story together for a better future. He says about settlers like myself: "Maybe they will learn to love the land more than they love what they take from it." For anyone interested in the power of storytelling, this book is a must read.
March 8, 2023
This is a book to savour - to read a bit at a time and let the teaching fill you up before you go back for more.
I thought I had a pretty good take on the power of story. Then I read this book and realized I had only scratched the surface.
Johnson shows us the power in both micro and macro aspects of story.
It drives our most intimate relationships. "We are the stories we tell ourselves."
Story drives the kind of society and world we live in. "Both capitalist and socialist stories depend upon the exploitation of the earth's resources. A capitalist will cut down the last tree if there's money to be made. A socialist will cut down the last tree so long as the worker doing the cutting belongs to a trade union."
This book is full of guidelines for how to live a rich and satisfying life so that "Every one of our days should be good enough to die in.... We have to practise writing those days until we can fill our lifestory with pages so good that endings don't frighten us anymore."
And my favourite takeaway is this, “Giving a shit is a powerful story.”
I thought I had a pretty good take on the power of story. Then I read this book and realized I had only scratched the surface.
Johnson shows us the power in both micro and macro aspects of story.
It drives our most intimate relationships. "We are the stories we tell ourselves."
Story drives the kind of society and world we live in. "Both capitalist and socialist stories depend upon the exploitation of the earth's resources. A capitalist will cut down the last tree if there's money to be made. A socialist will cut down the last tree so long as the worker doing the cutting belongs to a trade union."
This book is full of guidelines for how to live a rich and satisfying life so that "Every one of our days should be good enough to die in.... We have to practise writing those days until we can fill our lifestory with pages so good that endings don't frighten us anymore."
And my favourite takeaway is this, “Giving a shit is a powerful story.”
November 24, 2025
Whoa. A story told by someone who knows the power of story. Johnson retells the story of us in Canada from an Indigenous perspective, and suggests better options for where that story can go. There’s a better story we need to tell ourselves to end up somewhere different than desolation and death.
While he critiques Christianity in ways it should be, Johnson also brought some Christian theology alive in powerful new ways. Not sure if he meant to, or if he purposefully and mischievously kicks the sand around in theology’s playground to get us unstuck. Get to the very end to find out what he sees will fill the hole no one knows how to fill, the gaping void that’s swallowing all the animals and causing humans to despair. Thought-provoking yet familiar.
While Johnson manages to rough up my Christian theology in some good, necessary ways, it’s exactly this that opens up new possibilities for understanding reality. I’m sure I’ll find ways to refer to this book in my academic studies in theology. I’m sad to hear Johnson has passed, but I look forward to reading his earlier books now.
While he critiques Christianity in ways it should be, Johnson also brought some Christian theology alive in powerful new ways. Not sure if he meant to, or if he purposefully and mischievously kicks the sand around in theology’s playground to get us unstuck. Get to the very end to find out what he sees will fill the hole no one knows how to fill, the gaping void that’s swallowing all the animals and causing humans to despair. Thought-provoking yet familiar.
While Johnson manages to rough up my Christian theology in some good, necessary ways, it’s exactly this that opens up new possibilities for understanding reality. I’m sure I’ll find ways to refer to this book in my academic studies in theology. I’m sad to hear Johnson has passed, but I look forward to reading his earlier books now.
December 9, 2025
An incredibly insightful little pocketbook chocka full of wisdom. The sort of book to savor bit by bit. The Power of Story is written by Harold Johnson, an Indigenous man of Cree and Swedish ancestry, as he nears the end of his life and reflects on the role which story has played in both it and wider human history.
In a similar fashion to Sapiens, which he directly references, Johnson argues that everything is story and the ones which we choose to tell have a profound impact on our society and lives. The book is framed as one such story as Johnson sets a scene of visitors huddled around his backyard fire sharing tea as he imparts his knowledge. A choice I found to be particularly effective and enjoyable to read.
As the saying goes, history is written by the victors and I found Johnson's reframing of narratives commonly held to be particularly compelling. By reframing the past we can critically evaluate our present and reinvent our future. We are the stories society tells us and we tell ourselves, as Johnson argues, it's time we started telling better ones.
In a similar fashion to Sapiens, which he directly references, Johnson argues that everything is story and the ones which we choose to tell have a profound impact on our society and lives. The book is framed as one such story as Johnson sets a scene of visitors huddled around his backyard fire sharing tea as he imparts his knowledge. A choice I found to be particularly effective and enjoyable to read.
As the saying goes, history is written by the victors and I found Johnson's reframing of narratives commonly held to be particularly compelling. By reframing the past we can critically evaluate our present and reinvent our future. We are the stories society tells us and we tell ourselves, as Johnson argues, it's time we started telling better ones.
June 10, 2024
I hoped this book would teach me something about storytelling, but instead I had to endure 200 pages of victimhood blabbering, with the word “story” mentioned every other sentence.
The author keeps complaining about the advantages of a society he benefited from and interjects his indigenous half to legitimize his perceived victimhood. Every time I think he moves on, he goes back to racism.
He mentions a few interesting factoids, but there’s nothing holding the story together other than his rant about how bad white people are.
One of the most basic and biased takes on the world one could expect from a Harvard educated lawyer. The world is not a perfect place, but it’s much worse in this book. Bottom line: a waste of time.
The author keeps complaining about the advantages of a society he benefited from and interjects his indigenous half to legitimize his perceived victimhood. Every time I think he moves on, he goes back to racism.
He mentions a few interesting factoids, but there’s nothing holding the story together other than his rant about how bad white people are.
One of the most basic and biased takes on the world one could expect from a Harvard educated lawyer. The world is not a perfect place, but it’s much worse in this book. Bottom line: a waste of time.
June 16, 2024
I found the book incredibly moving. The way Johnson interweaves memoir/biography as a means of illuminating his broader ideas was very effective for me. The book challenged my ideas while also helping me to grow in my understanding of indigenous ways of being, knowing, doing & being.
I acquired the boom through my local library as part of my book club, and now I need a copy for my personal collection. There are a few provocative ideas I need to revisit.
I knocked a star because while overall, I enjoyed how conversational the tone was, I think there were a few spots that seemed unnatural in writing. For example he tells his audience he needs to get more tea a few time… he is telling stories to visitors… and that doesn’t flow. I think it would be effective in an audiobook.
I acquired the boom through my local library as part of my book club, and now I need a copy for my personal collection. There are a few provocative ideas I need to revisit.
I knocked a star because while overall, I enjoyed how conversational the tone was, I think there were a few spots that seemed unnatural in writing. For example he tells his audience he needs to get more tea a few time… he is telling stories to visitors… and that doesn’t flow. I think it would be effective in an audiobook.
March 12, 2023
I was so excited to read this book, thinking maybe it could anchor Indigenous Voices courses, and that would be a hard no. I found myself disagreeing with the author again and again based on teachings I've received from many Elders. I see lots of folks raving with 5 star reviews and I'm wondering, did we read the same book?Maybe folks who do not have any connections to Indigenous teachings? IDK. I struggled to get through it, and if I had bought it rather than gotten it from the library, I'd have been mad. Holding out hope for the soon to be released Michelle Good book on storytelling.
April 23, 2023
I just finished the audiobook and I want to re-read physically to make copious notes. There were numerous times where I had to stop and just absorb a sentence he wrote. This was beautiful and powerful and I'm jealous of those that had to honour of sitting around that campfire.
A victim is a character in a story not their own.
And one's life should be a practice of writing "pages so good that endings don't frighten us any more".
Those are paraphrases as I don't have the book yet.
A victim is a character in a story not their own.
And one's life should be a practice of writing "pages so good that endings don't frighten us any more".
Those are paraphrases as I don't have the book yet.
October 17, 2023
A tiny tome, the kind you could easily slip in a pocket which is bigger on the inside, big enough to fill all of creation. Through a series of lectures (fireside chats really) this dissects the myriad fictions that power our lives, the lies we structure society around, like money and capitalism and democracy and love. Johnson turns these tales on their heads and makes you see things in a whole new light.
September 20, 2023
This book shifted my thinking on many things, and I'll return to it soon, and again many times. The story of Canadian colonial history, the stories I assume about myself, my community and the world. It reframed hope, and caring and the importance of connection. I'll be investigating the stories I subscribe to both knowingly and those inherited.
March 31, 2024
Written in a very conversational and engaging way, I read it in a few sittings over the course of a day. I feel like it shook me out of a bad place, and I already want to reread it, only a few days after finishing it.
I'm interested in reading other works by Johnson (I already started reading Firewater), and I'm sad that this is his last.
I'm interested in reading other works by Johnson (I already started reading Firewater), and I'm sad that this is his last.
January 20, 2025
Wow, a short but impactful read. Johnson asks us to exime the stories we tell ourselves, about our history, our present, our culture, our family, ourselves. Are they true? Or just "the sh!t we make up." He shows us how we (and our beliefs) are products of the stories we hear and tell ourselves. Read and reread!
March 17, 2023
There are not enough powerful words to describe how moving and touching this book is!!! I strongly suggest it be read by all!!!!!!!! If I had known this book existed while I was still teaching it would have been on my curriculum for both English and History!!!!!!!
May 26, 2023
Brilliant story insights, connected to much larger questions of existence related to the world's great turning. I loved the epistolary form told around the campfire, really aligned with content in a informative way
July 21, 2023
An interesting rumination on the stories we tell ourselves and how they lead us through life. My favourite part of this book is that it’s written as if you’re sitting next to a fire with the author. I loved the moments where he spoke directly to me, as if we were in the same space.
April 15, 2024
There's lots of important content in this book. I even learned a bit of the history of the Forest Finns, which was unexpected and enlightening. I've already promised a copy to someone, because there is so much that I believe they'd be interested in.
July 29, 2024
This is such a good book! I keep returning to the ideas it shares, and learning new things from them.
I really feel like every writer should read this, regardless of where they are from or living in the world. Especially nonfiction writers.
I really feel like every writer should read this, regardless of where they are from or living in the world. Especially nonfiction writers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews