WINNER OF THE AMAZON CANADA FIRST NOVEL AWARD • NOMINATED FOR CANADA READS • A NEW YORK TIMES NEW & NOTEWORTHY BOOK • A NOW MAGAZINE BEST BOOK TO READ FOR SUMMER 2019 • As heard on CBC's The Sunday Edition with Michael Enright It’s October in Montreal, 2002, and winter is coming on fast. Past due on his first freelance gig and ensnared in lies to his family and friends, a graphic design student with a gambling addiction goes after the first job that promises a paycheck: dishwasher at the sophisticated La Trattoria. Though he feels out of place in the posh dining room, warned by the manager not to enter through the front and coolly assessed by the waitstaff in their tailored shirts, nothing could have prepared him for the tension and noise of the kitchen, or the dishpit’s clamor and steam. Thrust on his first night into a roiling cast of characters all moving with the whirlwind speed of the evening rush, it’s not long before he finds himself in over his head once again. A vivid, magnificent debut, with a soundtrack by Iron Maiden, The Dishwasher plunges us into a world in which everyone depends on each other—for better and for worse.

Dishwasher is Public Radio favorite and underground celebrity Pete Jordan’s amusing memoir of his dishwashing extravaganza. Part adventure, part parody, and part miraculous journey of self-discovery, it is the unforgettable account of Jordan's transformation from itinerant seeker into "Dishwasher Pete"—unlikely folk hero, writer, publisher of his own cult zine, and the ultimate professional dish dog—and how he gave it all up for love. “For 12 years, I was the most prolific dishlicker of them all. From 1989 to 2001, I dished my way around the country, unwittingly searching for direction. From a bagel joint in New Mexico to a Mexican joint in Brooklyn; from a dinner train in Rhode Island to the Lawrence Welk Resort in Branson, Missouri; from an upper-crust ladies’ club to a crusty hippie commune—I washed the nation’s dishes. Whether it was a gig so lousy that I walked out within an hour or one where I toiled 120 hours a week, I remained a man on a mission: to bust suds in every state in the union.”—Pete Jordan A smart, funny, and surprising look at life, Dishwasher is sure to appeal to fans of Nick Hornby and Tom Perotta.

Finishing a fourteen-year prison term, Bill Malone takes a job at the Star Motel and tries to start over, but his new life is shattered when one of his new friends is raped, forcing Malone into a confrontation with the local mafia. A first novel.

A Dishwashers Diary is the fictionalized diary of Rev. Joshua Thornbee. Thornbee ends up leaving the ministry after suffering a nervous breakdown. He then tries to find other work but has no luck. Finally, as last resort, he takes a job as a dishwasher at the restaurant that he used to go for local ministerial association luncheons. The diary is for the year he worked there and deals with subject ranging from his personal life, poetry, dreams, literature, history, romance, and special entries for holidays. It is truly a delightful read!

I am asked by many loved ones, why the title Breaking Shackles: The Story of the Lowly Dishwasher most often. My response is questions you ask about a higher power and or about self. Breaking Shackles is a profound series about a young man destined to fulfill a walk for understanding. That understanding as a guide and gift to reach peace and stillness on earth most likely a lost art to humankind. While not being a victim everything was afforded to me for as long as I can remember. For some reason, I found myself always rebelling, living in a single-parent home with nine other siblings. I found myself following in my oldest brother footsteps to over a decade of incarceration at the age of twenty. This is the true story of being alone thrust into the penitentiary system while being assaulted, robbed, vulnerable, and taken advantage of. In this heart-wrenching first saga, the author learns a new way of life which leads to a Sibilance of tasting ultimate enlightenment to share with the world.

“As quirky and fresh as a D&D campaign with your best friends." – Ashley Poston, author of Geekerella In celebrity-obsessed Timberwood Village, the great warrior Riqa is an icon who’s about to throw the wedding of the century, and local teens Darlis and Mae are just two humble dishwashers. Until, that is, Riqa mysteriously disappears and an unsuspecting Darlis is mistaken for her! It seems like an honest mistake, until he realizes that these two troll siblings want to capture and hold him for ransom, with Mae getting caught in the mix-up. To get out of this predicament, these dishwashers will have to get their hands a little dirty. Armed with only their wits and Riqa’s book, The Fair Maiden’s Guide to Eating Your Captor for Breakfast, can Darlis and Mae give their captors a run for their money?