For the Love of a Son

“For the Love of a Son is a beautiful book about grief, tragic loss, and a belief that we can make a better Winnipeg and a better world.” — The Winnipeg Free Press“A heartbreaking journey into every parent’s worst nightmare. Scott Oake does us all a public service by unravelling the misconceptions around addiction and recovery. Poignant, and at times, maddening, For the Love of a Son is ultimately a testament to the bonds of family and the unconditional love of a father and husband.” — MELLISSA FUNG, author of Between Good and Evil and the #1 bestseller Under an Afghan Sky “A gifted communicator, Scott Oake shares the account of a father, son, and family who turn the depths of loss to drug addiction into an unstoppable force for change and recovery.” — ERIN DAVIS, media personality and author of the bestseller Mourning Has Broken: Love, Loss and Reclaiming Joy“There is a reason Scott is our best at inquisition. Humour, compassion, and the right words. Here is the end of all that his beloved son Bruce was. It’s also a beginning.” — RON MACLEAN, Hockey Night in Canada“This is a story of rare courage and resilience, but above all this is a story of a family’s love for their son and brother and their love for all those families facing the horror of addiction.” — MARK J. CHIPMAN, Executive Chairman and Governor, Winnipeg Jets“A moving and heart-rending personal story of a family struggling through addiction and searching for treatment—searching for hope—for their son and brother Bruce.” — GARY DOER, former Premier of Manitoba“Scott Oake offers graphic insight about his son’s tragic and ultimately fatal journey into a world of drug addiction, a world that all our brothers and sisters—Indigenous and non-Indigenous—can relate to and through which many have suffered great personal loss … the Oake family are dynamic and proactive in response.” — JIM BEAR, Former Chief of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation

Scott Oake is a Gemini Award–winning sportscaster for CBC Sports, Sportsnet, and Hockey Night in Canada. Raised in Sydney, Nova Scotia, he began his broadcasting career at Memorial University’s campus radio station before going on to work with CBC for five decades. Oake has covered Canada’s biggest sports moments, including the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, CFL football, in addition to his longstanding role as part of Hockey 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 the Order of Manitoba and the Order of Canada.