Kofi Quaye

My Troubled Life: from Trinidad and Tobago to the Virgin Islands and America Kofi Quaye

Voodoo and the Holy Ghost. Sin and Redemption. The Immigrant Experience and Life in the Native Country. White Supremacists Against Black Nationalists. These are some of the powerful themes explored in this book by a man who lived and experienced both the best and the worst of both worlds. Haunted by a lurking fear of a 'curse' he was told he might have inherited from his father as the first born son, he sought to escape the 'voodoo' by emigrating first to St. Croix and the Virgin Islands and from there to the United States where he began to pursue the American Dream. It was smooth sailing in the beginning: a good job, lots of cash, a happy marriage, beautiful children and a great family life. Then it all came tumbling down. Suddenly he seemed to have forgotten about his family, his goal of working to save money to go back home to help his family, and blew it all on 'good time' It was: women, booze, drugs. He paid the ultimate prize with a failed marriage, disgruntled children and a disappointed family. He almost lost his life when he ran into angry white 'union brothers', who hated Black people, called him a nigger and tried to kill him. Yet through it all, he managed to hold on to his dignity, with his faith in God, pride in his heritage and dedication to his children.