Identity Crisis

by T.K. Kanwar

Born and raised in Toronto, Sam Dhillon is a second-generation Canadian who no longer recognizes his country. Inflation is out of control. Crime skyrockets. Even subway rides have become a hellish experience. He wonders if he's the only one noticing the decline. Yet over time, he discovers there are indeed others who feel the same way.

In New York City, midwestern girl Jennifer Moore is indoctrinated. Once a faithful Christian, she now fights for social justice and proudly works for a progressive America alongside the rising tide of wokeness. But when tragedy strikes, she begins to question what she was taught. All the while, her country is changing, seemingly faster and more dramatically than ever before, sinking further and further into depravity, corruption, and lawlessness.

In the 2020s, racial and cultural divisions finally reach a point of no return as decades of globalist policies have altered the Western world immensely. Years ago, some warned about the effects mass migration could have in the future. Were they right?

Sweeping new laws aim to crush the suddenly antiquated notion of meritocracy, and usher in what everyone is promised will be a new and marvelous age of equity.

Meanwhile, powerful forces work in the shadows to ensure there is definitely a method to all of the seeming madness.

Identity Crisis is a novel for those wondering . . . what happened to the world I used to know?

"[T]he 2010s and 2020s seemed like a turning point, a time when once strong and widely held norms that had long defined Western culture and history were subjected to rapid and stunning degradation. The societies that people grew up in, the ones they presumed would always be there, started to slip away from them in plain sight."

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Kindle Edition

Published December 13, 2021

About the author

T.K. Kanwar is an author of political fiction from Toronto, Ontario. In recent years, he has become increasingly concerned at the overreaches of the modern left. Accordingly, his novels aim to explore the potential long-term effects that our current progressive cultural drift could have on Western civilization in the future. His latest novel, The World We Deserve, is a work of speculative dystopian fiction set in a future United States where the “Great Reset” has come to fruition and an all-encompassing progressive order has been installed throughout government and everyday life, complete with advanced surveillance, citizenship ratings, and very little remnants of traditional American culture. His previous novel, Identity Crisis, explores the effects of globalist policies on the United States and Canada, specifically in terms of mass migration and identity politics.

He graduated from the University of Toronto with a bachelor of arts in sociology and also has a master’s degree in public administration from Carleton University. He has worked in both the private and public sector, having spent many years in the media industry, as well as time with the federal government.

Reviews

[Stefanie Lozinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

The prologue of this book was a letter from Yuri Bezmenov. Like, the ex-KGB agent. Great stuff, actually. You can find his talks on Youtube.

Anyway, when I saw that, I realized that T.K. Kanwar was an author who was not afraid to make bold choices. Most of this book is set in 2025 - another gutsy choice. This book does not shy away from topical issues. It is unflinching in the "predictions" it makes for this fictional near-future. It also pretty blatantly includes a fictionalized version of an extremely popular controversial figure.

It could have been disastrous, but it wasn't. It was excellent.

I actually tore through this, but due to a million other things going on it took forever to post the review. The author has a very clean, easy to read writing style that I liked a lot.

There are some flaws. The cover doesn't exactly match what the book is, in my opinion, even though it's a really nice looking cover (then again, it's really hard to pin down a genre for this book, so it's not like it put me off from buying it or anything). I noticed a few minor grammatical errors and awkward sentences. Maybe one or two occasions of head-hopping/tense issues. Nothing I found too distracting.

The biggest issue with the story that I had was that the characters were really telling two very separate stories that didn't connect. That may just be my preference, but I felt like the author could in the future consider even a small tie-in when using multiple POVs to bring cohesiveness to the narrative.

Okay, that minor boring stuff aside, this book absolutely got me right in the feels in a way I totally did not expect. And it was awesome.

Like the author (and the main character, Sam) I live in Toronto, Ontario. The way that Sam experiences life in the modern day in this city is just so on point. I found it very... validating, for lack of a better word. There's one scene where Sam remembers experiencing a certain song back a couple of decades ago, and how different the world was then. This little scene was written in such simple prose. And yet, it almost brought me to tears.

This book is needed. This book not only makes a number of excellent points about the perils of social justice-ism in our day, but it also reminds people who grew up even a couple of decades ago that they're not alone. And that it's actually OK to feel pain and loss over the state of the country you grew up in.

So, hey. Lots of people will hate this book. It's politically preachy, but I strongly prefer that to the hidden propaganda we see in 90% of media produced now. This book is honest about what it is and who it is for.

I fear that this book will get traction because it will be one-starred to hell by people who call the brown-looking Indian-Canadian author (at least I THINK he’s of Indian origin? Sorry, T.K. Lol. Not sure.) a racist white supremacist, but such is life (in Canada, in Current Year...)

This book wasn't super miserable or depressing, but it was honest. And the honest truth is that the country I grew up in may never be coming back. I'm still coping with that.

I admire the author for putting himself out there and writing this. I like the ballsy creative decisions, including the lengthy letter from Bezmenov that opens the book (I mean, never do this ever for any other kind of fiction, but it totally worked here). I like the characters including the several smaller actors in the book.

Most of all, I like knowing that this country has not entirely given up on who we really are. I like being able to be sad with someone else through my Kindle screen.

[K.M. Breakey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jennifer and Sam navigate respective journeys through dystopian wokeness and civilizational decline in Canada and America. Jennifer’s woke worldview is challenged by the arrival of her very white baby boy. Maternal instincts kick in and she can no longer reconcile society’s blatant anti-whiteness. Sam is an Indo-Canadian data analyst who not only notices the anti-whiteness, he is profoundly disturbed by it. After expressing these opinions publicly and receiving backlash, he ponders life as a full-time activist like his hero JP Nolan, but at what cost?

Race is central to Identity Crisis, and the author is not shy about confronting taboos and exploring where the present-day dysfunction will take us. The novel features an interesting supporting cast and a unique stylistic choice in that the two main characters never actually interact.

Under the narrator’s steady hand and interspersion of keen societal observations, you end up with an entertaining and deeply significant read.

[Vikki Vaught · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Musings

This is a realistic look at what damage can happen from the woke theory overtaking our nation. It's chilling to be quite honestly. It foretells what happens when a society moves away from moral ethics and unbiased opinions of news castors. Glad I found this book. A very thought provoked reader!

[Matt McAvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let’s get this clear, right off the bat: this book is outstanding. Tremendous. Simply the best book I’ve read in a very long time, without a hint of doubt. Furthermore, while it is very rare for me to stoop to the cliched hyperbole that a book “should be read by everyone”, in this case, given its subject matter and current societal trend, not to mention the book’s sheer quality, it absolutely must be read by everyone, right now, before it’s too late – although, of course, most of us know that it probably already is.

If you read for fun or escapism from daily life, then be warned that Identity Crisis is definitely not the read for you; it is about as topical as it gets, and exceptionally depressing – not in terms of its mood or content, but rather by the fact that it is so vivid, so comprehensive in its minutiae and so absolutely accurate. It is a devastating indictment of our times and the way society is going; the immeasurable self-harm being inflicted on a global scale by allowing a vocal, powerful and divisive far-left minority to dictate our direction socially as a species. The worst thing about it, most terrifyingly of all, is that none of it is mere rhetoric; Kanwar’s dystopian nightmare is literally unfolding all around us, right now, and there is not a thing we can do to stop its momentum, this snowballing machine of identity politics and the re-emergence of acceptable discrimination. Set now and in the very, very near future, you find yourself hoping that this machine will stop (just stop!) when you put the book down – but it doesn’t, and at this stage doesn’t appear that it will. As Kanwar states, progressive equity agenda is limitless and insatiable; the truth is, with fanatics in such a position of control over the media and government narrative, it will never stop until we actually stop it. There are a lot of books written about a dystopian future, but this is no fantasy; it is pure social commentary, though fictional, as real as you will ever read. Beginning with current factual events and carrying their aftermath into the next few years, I for one am in absolutely no doubt what he predicts is coming true, exactly as written.

But the author is no right-wing pundit, or even necessarily political, and that is this book’s major strength; the tale is told from the points of view of two incredibly moderate, even progressively liberal characters who begin to question events unfolding around them. Of course, Kanwar is not the first to write a book critical of identity politics, and he will definitely not be the last – in fact, one would suspect a flood of books like this are coming upon the horizon; you just pray that they galvanize a movement. What sets Kanwar’s book apart is his eloquent, immensely detailed narrative, as well as his outstanding writing. He is intellectual, measured, rational and highly intuitive – all the things his inevitable critics will undoubtedly fear most; every angle is covered without histrionics or bias, as the range of characters face real-life consequences for their beliefs, and for the conditions imposed on society by a tiny, extremist minority, who have somehow managed to achieve immense dictatorial power, with the platform of social media. He has chosen his home country of Canada as this book’s main setting, but his knowledge of and insight into the global community and cultures around the world, in addition to the tremendously balanced and articulate way he presents his prophecy, really singles him out as a writer of the very highest quality.

I for one am extremely worried about my country’s near future, and further know that there is nowhere in the world which will be spared; I can perfectly understand how anxious the situation must be in a country like Kanwar’s, which is arguably emerging one of the epicentres of the birth of the new “anti-discriminatory” world order. What he has done is put my fears into words in a balanced and articulate way, leaving no stone unturned and no approach unaddressed; I defy anyone to successfully out-debate him on this subject. In truth, I could keep writing pages reviewing this book, but can add nothing which will do justice to Kanwar’s book, other than my absolute recommendation of it.

Yes, it certainly should be read by everyone, not just the many millions I am positive share his and my very tangible concerns. He should be immensely proud of the critique he has presented in this fictional commentary, and it fully deserves to be the forerunner to a massively important social movement. Superb.

[David Daigneault · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no question that this novel is aptly named. There are identity crises happening on many different levels. Sam and Jennifer are going through personal transformations, that while they come through them, with no small sacrifices to themselves and their families, the process enables them to be more comfortable with their lives, truer to themselves. There are broader crises happening at the national political level in both Canada and the United States. Canada taking a more complacent, almost docile path, the U.S. more violent but both countries headed in much the same direction. That direction is very much a left, progressive approach that seems bent on changing the dominant culture, aggressively eradicating it through reverse discrimination and higher than sustainable rates of immigration. At its very essence this novel is about a power shift in society, how and why it comes about.
We have underlying tones of conspiracy that start with a somewhat ominous prologue that talks about the intended destruction of western democracies. We have Dr. Nolan’s meeting with a shadowy figure who attempts to persuade Nolan to give up his campaign against what I will call globalist, progressive-left policies. Those are overt examples of an overlying dominant social philosophy existing in society designed to establish an “equitable, multiracial, progressive utopia” that will “cancel white people”.
All this is tough stuff to write about in the present day’s political climate and the author’s attempt to portray events in the short-term future don’t make it any more comfortable to read. It’s a difficult read in some ways because it goes against the prevailing flow of everything that surrounds all of us on a daily basis. But it’s valuable because of its alternative view.
In terms of character formation, Sam and Jennifer are well-developed. Their personal story arcs are interesting, if perhaps a little predictable towards the latter part of the book. The Christian aspect of Jennifer’s story raised my eyebrows a little bit because at the outset I didn’t consider this novel to be Christian literature. But in some circles, I guess it could be. The religious aspect of Jennifer’s life is perfectly understandable as part of her journey. Back to the foundational life she grew up with. Back to one person trying to make a difference which is a theme that comes through very strongly with all the characters. Sam’s jocularity with his pals Daniel and Brad is soothingly familiar to the reader. The changing face of Toronto is also familiar to anyone who has spent time living in the GTA.
Is this book controversial? Yes, because it portrays points of view that while valid are not commonly available on our media table of delights. I feel in this regard that the author is like Sam and Jennifer. Taking a stand that will not be popular but is true to character. The immigration question is particularly thorny. But the list is long. Critical Race theory. Complete demise of the individual. Shatter the traditions of merit and equality. It’s all controversial and like some characters in the book, the far left would have you think that all of these issues are already settled and if you don’t agree you’re on the wrong side of revisionist history.
I was uncomfortable reading this book at some points. That’s a good thing in my opinion. Did it make me think? Yes, and that’s another good thing. Can one person make a difference? Yes, but sometimes it takes guts. Are our western societies on irreversible paths? That remains to be seen but something like BIPOC-WE sounds eerily familiar. On the whole it’s a well-written novel. I laughed sometimes, like at the line “avoid the appearance of a hostage video”. I could relate to much of the content. All of us should take a stroll outside our comfort zones once in a while. You never know what you’ll find. But why take my word for it. Read ‘Identity Crisis’ for yourself. I think you’ll find it’s a bold effort.

[Vigilant Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title – Identity Crisis
Author – T. K. Kanwar
Genre – Political Fiction
Word Count - 99,600
Rating – 4 stars out of 5
No. 06 - 2022
Posted 2/12/2022

My Impressions: Excellent fictionalization of today’s leftist push achieving Marxism

Main Characters:
Sam Dhillon – middle aged Canadian, successful, India ancestry, conservative,
Daniel – Sam’s best friend, fired from his job for being white.
Jennifer Moore – Leaves Wisconsin for college in NY City, indoctrinated to the left until personal tragedy hits.

The story opens with an ex-Soviet agent telling how a nation is changed from capitalism to communism over time from within without a shot being fired.

Sam Dhillon’s parents immigrated from India; he often reflects on his childhood and how he and his mixed ethnic friends got along. No one really paid attention to what color or religion the others were. As he attained middle age, liberals were pushing their hatred of whites as white supremacy. He best friend Daniel, who was white, was fired from his job for not buying into the hatefulness of a new government program to redefine the social makeup of the workforce.
Daniel invited Sam to attend a talk given by a noted conservative fighting to reject the new government mandate.
Sam and the speaker hit it off and Sam began speaking out too; he stopped when he was threatened with termination from his job, which was controlled by far-left liberals.
Jennifer Moore hailed from Wisconsin and moved to New York City to attend college. She was quickly indoctrinated by far-left radical professors and joined the socialist groups on campus to achieve the bigoted goals of the far left. She participated in protest rallies and shouted down conservative speakers invited by right-wing groups. Upon graduation she was hired by a radical, left-wing organization to further their cause. But then Jennifer suffered a life changing event that caused her to rethink the political beliefs she’d been taught.

Identity Crisis is a compilation of events occurring throughout the world today told from a conservative point of view. I recommend it highly and hope it will seep into the thought process of both left and rightwing voters.

The editing and sentence structure need work to be professional. Unfortunately it drags the rating down.
Character Development is excellent for the two main characters.
Details and research are in depth and show an understanding of today’s political quagmire.
The plot is set within today’s struggle to remain capitalist vs. changes to socialism or Marxism

Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.

[Angie Mangino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Identity Crisis
By T K Kanwar
2022
Reviewed by Angie Mangino
Rating: 5 stars


In the Prologue Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov’s letter immerses readers into where this book is headed. Readers who jump ahead immediately to Chapter One without reading will miss a key thought to consider in their reading.

Chapter One begins in Toronto on August 18, 2025, where readers meet Sam Dhillon at the High Park subway station.

“The Toronto Transit Commission had struggled to keep up with the city’s explosive population growth for decades, but in recent years things had gotten much worse. Air-conditioning was non-existent and the crowding during morning rush hour was so bad that he would usually have to wait for two full trains to pass before he could squeeze on board. How long before they bring out those big sticks to push people inside?”

Chapter Two goes back to October 24, 1992, when Sam felt connected to his city leading into Chapter Three when readers meet Jennifer Moore, a 19-year-old Freshman at New York University in New York City on September 17, 2018. The background of the two main characters is now set up well for readers to rejoin Sam in Chapter Four in 2025. Later readers will rejoin Jennifer.

The author established these transitions excellently. Readers will seamlessly follow the story, anxious to know more about both of them when reading. Racial and cultural issues blend into the fabric of both of their experiences and readers have much to ponder keeping open to the ideas presented.

Both Sam and Jennifer are believable characters that readers will care about. Excellent dialogue enhances the story with a plot that will have readers involved in the happenings in their lives.

After the story concludes a return to the prologue for a rereading of Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov’s letter seems appropriate, bringing the story full circle. The author gave readers much to consider in the subset of this compelling story set in Canada and the United States.

https://amzn.to/3n4PyZn

Angie Mangino currently works as a freelance journalist and book reviewer, as well as author of 17th Century Tottenville History Comes Alive, first in a series of Tottenville History books. www.AngieMangino.com

[Matthew C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As one might expect from the description, Identity Crisis is a prognostication of what our future—in both the United States and Canada—might look like if globalist political planning continues its current trajectory of supplanting the culture of our Western societies. In some ways it reminds me of Doug Wilson’s Ride Sally Ride, in that the plot is set only a few years in the future and predicts an exponential rate of societal fracturing.

Of course a book like this has the burden of trying not to let large sections of explanatory exposition take over the various scenes and episodes. Kanwar does a skilled job at handling this, though, with the exposition nearly always tucked in the context of a character’s developing understanding of the world around them. His strategy of jumping back and forth between two protagonists, one for Canada and one of the United States, was also successful. Each felt rounded and based on real archetypes.

With a book set only a few years into the future, the author was bound to include both known public figures as well as his own created ones. These two coincide in his slightly altered version of Jordan Peterson, which I greatly enjoyed.

The core of this book centers on the lost way of life for the average Joe, or in this case, the average Sam. The people who just want to live their lives, enjoy community, and flourish are punished by the cynical activists and ideologues that are so adept at seizing positions of power in government and other powerful institutions. The book’s implicit message is that those who simply want to live their fruitful lives without fighting back against the culture-destroying zeitgeist will soon find that their beloved culture no longer exists as it once was.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved it! The book perfectly captured where we are in the Western world and where we are heading, unfortunately. But it didn’t leave the reader without hope and subtly directed them to the only hope we truly have – God. It is a scary time we are living in, but as one of the protagonists, Sam, discovered, it really does help for us to know that we are not alone in this. There are probably more like us than we realize. The first few chapters quickly grab the reader’s attention, trying to figure out how in the world Sam and Jennifer are connected. I was really glad that I read a digital copy and thought to download it to my phone before traveling because about half-way through, I was so thoroughly gripped by the characters that I did not want to stop reading. The political intrigue that popped up made my heart race with the real-life implications of what the Western world is dealing with now.

I am amazed at how honestly the book represents current society realities without tiptoeing around controversial subjects. That alone is unique in both fiction and non-fiction books these days. Part historical, part present reality, and part future predictions, the story and its endearing human characters can offer many benefits to potential readers and hold out warnings as well as to what is barreling down the tracks to destroy our culture and freedom.

My heart broke at the parallels I see with the direction America and Canada are currently heading and the dangerous ground we already are walking on. But I also felt the thread of hope throughout along with the acknowledgement that there is One who will never leave those of us who choose to be His.

[Amy Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificently written powerful story!!!

Kanwar pens a powerful story in Identity Crisis. I haven't read work from this author before, and I enjoyed this story. First, when you start reading, you're reading a letter, to whom it may concern, and this, reader, is you. This author brings the story to life, the details of our world's current state (the battle of Covid-19, and all its repercussions) as well a very forward and direct story of Sam, past and present, and how the world, has evolved, or devolved. The characters had a lot of depth and were very interesting. The story hits a lot of notes, and has so many levels, sometimes, you have to take a breath, and then start reading again. This book deserves a second read! (and maybe more). It’s one of those embraceable stories. It’s definitely un-put-downable! This story was very intriguing and unpredictable. An Identity Crisis indeed, simply awe-inspiring. A very impressively written story. Identity Crisis is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I look forward to reading many more stories by this author.

[Jerry Harwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

An analysis of modernity through fictional characters. The story starts with a “To Whom It May Concern” letter written out of Russia from the 80’s. It is a quick read and lays out the path to collapse nations such as Canada and the USA could encounter. It sets up the true start of the novel in 2025 with Sam first, then Jennifer, then a host of other characters. I particularly connected with Jennifer’s religious background, conservative upbringing, and how it played into her character development as she was finally free from the “shackles” of her childhood at New York University. I also connected to Sam as he underwent anti-racism training, something my work mandated recently as well. Sam and Jennifer’s experience do, indeed, reflect much of common culture and our political trend to the left. There are minor characters such as Cindy, with a Vietnamese background, who give warnings of where USA and Canada may go but there are equally as many actual turns in the story predicting a future America and Canada. I appreciated the inclusion (not surprising based on the name of the book) of our often too available information. In particular, I enjoyed the section where Nolan is called to meet someone who knows information he has not even shared with his wife. They have all access from his medical diagnosis to the coming weather report in Vancouver… “don’t forget to bring an umbrella.” I also appreciated the character’s who take a stand, one example being Jennifer whose kid is given a book at school representing revisionist history.
At times the story felt more a political news article than work of fiction. But that is really the point. The world the author uses is not one of make believe. It is in fact the one of reality.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Identity Crisis says the quiet part out loud. It had me nodding my head - and looking over my shoulder. It's been a long time since I read anything that laid uncomfortable, indisputable truths on the table... and that's the whole point isn't it? A refreshing return to thought-provoking ideas that inspire discussion and debate... in a time when cancel culture stifles any real conversation.

Sam and Jennifer's storylines cover a lot of ground - and expose a lot of what we see every day in the workplace and social spheres for what it is: a slow march towards Marxism. The book does a great job of highlighting how we've completely altered our society to cater to the constantly-growing demands of the left. And now we're seeing the results of that societal shift away from truth and realism. Everyone is unhappy - and no one quite knows the source of the problem. Well, if you read Identity Crisis you'll be one step closer to understanding what it is. A fantastic read, highly recommend.

[Meagan | The Chapter House · Rating 3 out of 5]

_Identity Crisis_ read, to me, more like Patrick Lencioni's leadership fables than the standard fiction read I came into it expecting. Not bad, just different, and educational/thought-provoking.

The author (and book) brings a needed counterpoint to today's secular narrative. I think it could absolutely spark dialogue across the political spectrum, as well as help to articulate more-conservative concerns about the direction society is headed.

Writing style wasn't my favorite; I had hoped for a bit more Joel Rosenberg-style read than Lencioni-style (though both have their perks!), and felt it to be a tad overly descriptive, more telling than showing.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Nadine Bouckhout · Rating 4 out of 5]

scary thought

The book is fiction, but it can easily happen in North America. We see that currently the nation is very divided and that will only increase due to many decisions made by our governments on all levels - civic, provincial/state and federal. The education system is in turmoil and people are afraid to ask questions for fear of being ostracized from friends, family and community. I may not agree with everything in this fictional account, but it’s thought provoking and worth discussing.

[Jim Dowdell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prophetic and fun at the same time.
It was a nice interlude for me to see the coming horrors in a fictional format. With the one dimensional Woke attack on our freedom T.K. Kanwar has shown the affects of the death of democracy on two "modern" people in a realistic story. This should wake up the few adults who have not yet been conditioned with the Great Reset social engineering. But for me, now I need to get back to my reading list of non fiction.

[Sheri Albers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needs editing

I liked the story and agree with the message. It has a slight flavour of Ayn Rand with a prose style like Malcolm Gladwell. I noticed a few grammar and detail errors that should have been caught by proofreaders.