Woman of Substance (eBook)

The Life & Times of Alberta Christian

Alberta Christian, Esther Christian, Gabriel J. Christian (Autoren)

eBook Download: EPUB

2017 | 1. Auflage
245 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-4951-7169-7 (ISBN)

Infos

With faith in God, all things are possible. That could not be truer than in the life of Alberta John-Baptiste Christian. Born in 1929 on Dominica, British West Indies, Alberta Christian's life is literally a capsule of Caribbean history during a time of rapid change; from The Wall Street Crash in 1929 to workers and farmers rebellions from Jamaica in the north to Trinidad in the South, then World War II. The end of the war brought trade unions, more self-government, universal adult suffrage, national independence, and more rights for women, those of African descent and indigenous Carib people. From humble beginnings at Cocoa Center in the Layou Valley, to life in the village of St. Joseph in Dominica, Alberta kept striving for excellence and pushing it to the next level. From way, back, as a dutiful daughter, Alberta showed herself to be a woman of substance. Her romance and marriage to Wendell 'Papa Zafa' Christian, ex-soldier and long-time fire fighter, makes for truly delightful reading in the colonial era. Her first offspring was a special needs child, Christalin, 'Christo' Christian. However, instead of relegating her as a traditional burden, Alberta devotedly nurtured 'Christo' against all odds. She instilled these same core principles into the rest of her seven children. Her first son Wellsworth became the island's first locally born veterinary doctor. Then came the rest of the 'Christian Brothers' Lawson, Samuel and Gabriel followed by the sisters Esther and Theresa, all well accomplished. Ma' Christian's civil service experience began as a voter registrar with the introduction of adult suffrage, then later as a nurse at the St Luke's Mental Home. She made her mark as a progressive Manager of the Workshop for the Blind where she pioneered today's achievements in access for people with disabilities. A part time farmer, and committed civic leader, she was a founding member of the Dominica branch of the British Red Cross.

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Alberta Christian's autobiography, Woman of Substance, is a refreshing addition to the burgeoning literature about the lives of Dominicans from all spheres of life who in their own extraordinary way, have significantly enriched their community. In it, Christian details her life growing up in the village of St. Joseph, her family's struggle to survive during World War II, her life as a teacher, wife and mother and her vicarious pleasure as the fruits of her labour are realized through the extraordinary success of her children. Christian's autobiography, in many respects, does not cover virgin territory. Several prominent Dominican women, most notably authors, Jean Rhys, Phyllis Shand Allfrey and Elma Napier, have written autobiographical sketches of their lives in Dominica in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Other writers, such as Jamaica Kincaid's Autobiography of My Mother and Marie-Elena John's Unburnable, have also written fictional stories which explore the extraordinary hold of the landscape on the sensibility of their heroines. But whereas these works all depict the Dominican landscape as possessing a malignity or hostility which prefigures some crisis experienced by the subject or heroine, the very converse is true in Christian's autobiography. Growing up in modest circumstances in St. Joseph, a young Alberta Christian appeared to be totally in sync with her environment despite the daily hardships which threaten to circumscribe her future. Indeed, Alberta's extraordinary resistance and mettle was nursed by the very factors that conspired to abort any prospects or ambitions of many of her compatriots. But Alberta's parents imbued their children with strong religious beliefs which gave them a quiet confidence and dedication to overcome all obstacles. When her father lost his job on a plantation, he was consumed by shame. However, rather than retreat into a dungeon of self-pity, he chose instead to farm a portion of land in the heights of his village, although there were more arable portions of available land closer to his home. But in the anatomy of her parents' tribulations, the scalpel of corrective action was being operated on Alberta. When Alberta's father lost his job, her mother entered the work force, picking tobacco and limes on a local estate. When she fell, and broke her collarbone, Alberta's mother relied on her deeply rooted faith, reassuring her brood that "e;God is good"e; and that everything would be alright. And so, lacking the protection of a social safety net, the John Baptiste family tarried, eking out a living with measures such as selling eats at church services and cricket matches and making charcoal. The Christian children themselves added heft to these survival efforts and in the process, forged their own success on the anvil of honest labour. Steeped in a tradition of sacrifice, frugality and religion, Alberta Christian would grow up, marry into a well-known musical family in Dominica and imbue her own children with the qualities and belief system which molded her as she progressed from childhood to adulthood. In her husband, Wendell, Alberta found a soul mate whose own tremendous sense of civic duty matched her own. Wendell Christian, whose life is chronicled by son, Gabriel, a prominent barrister in Maryland, U.S.A., in his 2009 book, For King & Country, enlisted in the British military during World War II and afterwards was a senior officer in the Dominica Fire Services for decades before his retirement. This is a riveting story of endurance, faith and good works, amidst a sea of adversity, is a timely reminder to all readers of the importance of duty, the importance of strong family discipline, and unselfish service to community.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 20.10.2017
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
• ISBN-10: 1-4951-7169-8 / 1495171698
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4951-7169-7 / 9781495171697