Author of ‘Not Your Average Cup of Joe’ was once a homeless man in Peterborough

In 1986, Joseph Braithwaite was a typical teenager growing up in Keene, Ont.

But during the summer of 1994, he was a 22-year-old homeless man.

“Life happened to me. It was, you know, living behind Kawartha TV and Stereo, because I ended up being out of a job and not really knowing where to go or what happened and too embarrassed to go to my friends and family and say I need some place,” said Braithwaite.

Braithwaite fell off track, had no job, and ended up homeless on the streets of Peterborough.

“I used to sleep a couple hours a night there for about two months,” said Braithwaite. “A couple of friends — I’d stay on their couch once in a while. You know it was really nowhere else to go, so what do you do?”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I used to sleep a couple hours a night there for about two months," said Braithwaite. "A couple of friends — I'd stay on their couch once in a while. You know it was really nowhere else to go, so what do you do?"

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He later picked himself up, got a part-time job at Tim Hortons and went to school.

“I did a mechanical engineering technologist at Sir Sanford (Fleming College), and then I did an electronic engineering technologist, and then I did a joint business and computer studies degree at Trent. Then I did my MBA through the Jack Welch Institute in Washington.”

Since then, he ended up working for TD Canada Trust, Royal Bank of Canada, and McKesson pharmaceuticals. He’s now a 45-year-old author.

“The title of the book is ‘Not Your Average Cup of Joe’ and I labelled it this way because none of us are the same. We are all originals, so every one of us has an opportunity to create something  original from what we do,” he said.

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He hopes his book inspires others to move forward and overcome any obstacles thrown their way. He said Oprah Winfrey inspires him, “not because she’s a millionaire, but because of where she came from.”

While Braithwaite is currently unemployed, he is working towards fulfilling his dream of becoming a CEO of an organization.

‘Not Your Average Cup of Joe’ is available on Amazon and at Chapters for purchase.