Title: His Name Is Josiah
Author: Jose Flores
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-5434-8143-3
Pages: 120
Genre: Biography / Family & Relationships / Siblings
Reviewed by: Matt Hurd
Pacific Book Review
His Name Is Josiah is a unique and compulsively readable entry into the field of contemporary biographies. Written by the subject’s youngest brother, Josiah is a story of perseverance and courage; a lesson in what determined souls are capable of.
Josiah Flores’ story is one that may ring familiar to many: born into an immigrant family, one of seven children, Josiah set his sights on practical dreams rather than lofty ones from an early age. Even as a young person, Josiah understood perhaps more than any child should have to about the troubles the world can bring – but rather than bowing in the face of those pressures, he chose to rise to face them. His Name Is Josiah chronicles, from a familial perspective, the journey of a man with an immovable moral compass, a deep compassion for those around him, and a heart which would lead him to change numerous lives.
As told by Jose Flores, Josiah’s story is easily recognizable as a real-life Hero’s Journey. As is made clear in the stories of his childhood and teenage years, Josiah came to see himself as the lone protector of both his family and himself. On his own, he was a good man. Once he joined the Marines, which was a call he initially resisted in the strongest possible terms, he became a great one.
Jose’s writing may not be the most polished you’ve ever read, but that doesn’t matter at all in the face of the story he’s telling, and the clear love that he’s telling it with. His brother is his hero, and that fact shines through in every sentence on every page of this story. Reading Josiah makes you wish to be part of the Flores family, and by the conclusion, you feel as though you are.
Besides Jose’s accounting of his brother’s life, this book also includes a firsthand account of Josiah’s heroic death by a fellow Marine – one of many whose lives were saved by Josiah’s actions. Perhaps most touching of all, the last portion of the book is comprised of letters written by Josiah to each family member, delivered after his death.
His Name Is Josiah is a touching, beautiful, bittersweet account of the life of one man. Before reading this book, you probably didn’t know his name – but after finishing it, it’s unlikely that you’ll forget him.
