About this Book
After his father’s death, Eric Taylor is left to fend for himself on a small farm in the mountains of Jamaica. He decides to seek his fortune abroad, and chooses Toronto as his new home. It is a decision he immediately regrets. Alone and half-frozen, he longs for the sunshine and sensuality of his homeland.
The civil rights movement is at its height, and the Vietnam War is raging. Catastrophic events in the United States have a profound effect on his perceptions—and on his life.
Early encounters with bigoted Canadians make him acutely self-conscious of his swarthy skin and Caribbean accent. When he falls in love with a white Canadian girl, his mind is filled with self-doubt and mistrust. But his talent for music and help from newfound friends open doors he never knew existed and shape a destiny beyond his wildest imaginings.
Review Quotes
This is a moving and insightful book that’s a joy to read. It leaves you feeling reassured that the world — especially Canada — isn’t such a bad place after all. In fact, I found this wonderful story of a Canadian immigrant engaging, inspiring, and unforgettable. Its characters become as real to you as your own family and friends. The author draws you into their lives with imagination, sensitivity, understanding, and humor. It is a must-read that leaves you wishing for more.
— Sandra Florida, USA (5/9/2008)
EXCERPT
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
George Graham was born in Black River, Jamaica, and has worked for half a century as a reporter and editor in the Caribbean, Canada and America. The son of an agricultural instructor, he grew up in Portland and St. Elizabeth. As a 16-year-old student at Munro College, he won a World Youth Forum essay competition and spent several months attending English grammar schools,staying with English families and taking part in various “brains trusts.”
George’s first career venture was as a management trainee at a resort hotel, but he quickly gave that up to try his hand at journalism in Port au Prince, Haiti. After three years in Haiti, he immigrated to Canada and landed a reporting job in Timmins, Ontario, nearly 500 miles north of Toronto. He moved up to the Toronto Star and the Toronto Telegram, and went on to become editor of Toronto Life magazine and senior editor of The Canadian, a weekend supplement carried by newspapers across Canada.
George twice returned to work in Jamaica, first for the Industrial Development Corporation, and then for the Jamaica Daily News, where he was one of the founding editors.
In 1979, he moved to Florida, where he joined The Tampa Tribune as a roving columnist. He later became the editor of the daily Clearwater Sun.
George lives in Lakeland, Florida, with his wife, Sandra,three cats, two dogs, and countless squirrels and birds. Sandra is a former magazine and newspaper writer. George has three grown children, Ross, Grace and Christine, and two grandsons, Jonathan and Adam.
Where to Buy the Book
Buy the book at Publish America.
