Hope Beyond the Horizons

During the ruthless times of the infernal regime of Francois Duvalier (Papa Doc) and Jean-Claude Duvalier (Baby Doc) in Haiti lived a man whose hope could be found nowhere but beyond the distant skylines. His confidence birthed a dream that forced him to keep his children on a low profile. They could barely write their names to avoid being detected by the Tonton Makouts who liked no one that progressed. His oldest son escaped situations that attacked his faithfulness toward his family honor and his fiancée to whom he made a promise before he left the country.

The author is a first-generation immigrant American from Haiti who went through the system from the bottom up. He maneuvered to master the language, earned a bachelor’s degree in French, a master’s in counselor education, and a specialist degree in educational leadership. He is presently completing his Ph.D. in Religion with an emphasis in Christian Counseling. He either lived some of the experiences or he knows someone who did. He is a compassionate person with a counselor’s mind, a poet’s spirit and a writer’s heart. He lives to change humanity one person at a time.

This book is a masterpiece. I found it very easy to lose myself in the story. The author kept my interest from beginning to end.  Once I started reading, I just couldn’t stop, not even to go to sleep. For history and cultural buffs the descriptions are vivid and informative about Haiti during the Duvalier’s time. Yet the book is written for a mixed audience of teenagers to adults.

This is the story of Haitian Americans, families, immigrants, and people of all cultures. This is the story of politics and government. This is the story of hope and a better future. If you only read one book this year, I would highly recommend that this be the book. The poetry alone is fantastic. This is the story of hope in dreams beyond…

—Cathy Pressey, Ed.D., Social Studies Teacher