The Work of Our Hands by Adrian Sutherland

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The Work of Our Hands

Name: The Work of Our Hands
Price: 26.00 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Adrian Sutherland
ISBN: 9781037803086

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Published on Dec 30, 2025 | 4 Hours 47 Minutes

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Published on Dec 30, 2025 | 4 Hours 47 Minutes

Buy from Other Retailers:

In a world yearning for meaning, the path to spiritual renewal may lie through the discipline and freedom that only hard work can show us.

Life is hard in Attawapiskat. Outsiders see the poverty and despair, the sagging, mold-filled houses with generations packed into each one. The substance abuse and the suicides. The decaying water system, that has come to symbolize the everyday injustice faced by First Nations communities.

So why does Juno-nominated Cree musician Adrian Sutherland live there?

The Work of Our Hands reveals a dimension of his own experience that headlines cannot capture and outsiders cannot see. The answer to why? is the answer to how?

By exploring his world through the concrete experience of his hands, as they hold a guitar, a hammer, a rifle, or a cannister used to carry water to his family home, and the materials from which the traditional Cree sweat lodge is constructed, Sutherland not only paints a portrait of a world few of us have ever seen, he also lays out the way the world itself can teach us right and wrong as clearly as we can detect a musical note that is off-key.

Everyday life in Attawapiskat means choosing a difficult path, learning from the contours and hard edges of the world, and striving to do what is right. That is freedom. How many of us can say we are free?

Gritty, personal, and above all attuned to the meaning that we can discern only when we carefully hold the physical world in our hands, Sutherland’s story pulls us away from the abstractions and false promises of the disembodied reality we have stumbled into to approach deeper truth and meaning.

Praise for The Work of Our Hands:

“What a wonderful book. I was struck by the honesty and humility of the storytelling, and the bravery Adrian has in sharing his journey. It’s a deeply felt story, raw in both its detail and its emotion, and I really connected with his healing journey, through the land, ceremony, and into the work one can create with your own hands. You can smell and taste the land, feel the sting of the wind on his face. It’s resonant with its Cree world-sense and familiar with its redemption in living ‘in a good way,’ as we Anishinaabe say. A loving journey on the healing path.”
—Jesse Wente, bestselling author of Unreconciled

“With anxiety around a growing sense that the way we live on earth needs to change, Adrian Sutherland asks us to look at the animals we are, and the ways we give meaning to our existence. The Work of Our Hands is closely attuned to the grit and hardship of Attawapiskat life, while imbued with reciprocity and care, and glimmers of magic too. Sutherland’s writing is flint-sharp, as fresh as fish, arrayed in shining scales. Atmospheric, unsparing, beautiful.”
—Heidi Sopinka, bestselling author of The Dictionary of Animal Languages and Utopia

“Powerful, poetic, and profound. This is a must-read book about the trials and triumphs of a remarkable people and a truly good man.”
—Bob Ezrin, music producer to Lou Reed, Aerosmith, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, and Andrea Bocelli

“Adrian has written a powerful and heart-wrenching memoir—a story of struggle, addiction, resilience, and, ultimately, spiritual awakening. With unflinching honesty and hard-won wisdom, this book invites readers not only to witness his journey but to cheer for him along the way. Deeply inspiring, this book lingers long after the final page.”
—Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo

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Author

Adrian Sutherland

ADRIAN SUTHERLAND is a recording artist from Attawapiskat on James Bay. He released four albums with his band Midnight Shine before turning to solo projects. Since 2021, he has been nominated twice for the Juno Awards and won ‘Best Americana Album’ from the World Entertainment Awards. A father of four, grandfather of seven, and a hard-working husband, Adrian is proud of who he is and where he comes from. He speaks his Cree language, is a respected cultural leader, and practices traditional ways of the land. Among his numerous roles in the community, he is a master corporal with Attawapiskat’s Canadian Ranger Patrol, where he leads young people on wilderness initiatives.

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The Work of Our Hands

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