How has the Christian faith shaped my life?  Why did I pursue an education in America?   Why did I marry an American woman?  How did I get a break at CBS Network News?  Why did I become an American citizen?  How did I eventually become a professor, chair, and graduate director at an American university?  Why did I become an author?  Why am I writing Christian books in retirement?  These are some of the questions the author answers in Life’s Passages: From Guyana to America.      

Life’s Passages is a spiritual biography that traces my life as a member of the Thomas’ family up to the present time.  Its theme captures the role of a loving and caring God in our lives.  Readers will journey in the local environment of a small South American country - Guyana, and explore the realities of living in America as a student and professor.

Undoubtedly, Guyanese culture helped determine who I was to become.  Social, political, and economic factors were the bedrock of the way I came to view the world.  But it’s my belief that the hand of God was at work throughout my life.  This was true from the day I was born, to my experiences in public school, colleges, and universities.

From my early days in North Road, Georgetown, I would join my siblings in prayer in our three-room home.  I mainly attended Mass at St. George’s Cathedral, Guyana, and Church of the Holy Apostles, Virginia Beach, VA.  These experiences were to have profound effects upon me.  It was however by the grace of God working in my life that I was able to have the necessary breaks to progress in these communities.

Some unexpected opportunities led to fulfillment and happiness.  I benefited from an excellent education, found wonderful jobs, was blessed with a caring family, and friends.  There were trials along the way, when my life seemed as though it was falling apart.  But, by the grace of God I was able to persevere, and overcome these setbacks.  My story therefore is one of hope, love, grace, and above all, the triumph of the human spirit.            

Fiction. Asian & Asian American Studies.

Amid the Cultural Revolution, Nina Huang, one of the sent-down youths, says goodbye to her boyfriend and sneaks across the bay by boat to Hong Kong, where she is granted political asylum. After her subsequent immigration to the U.S. and later to Canada, Nina's employment and education, and her experiences with romantic/sexual relationships, are a radical departure from the moral code she knew in China. Twice during the time she is living in North America, she travels back to China to reunite with her mother as well as friends, and to see how Chinese society and politics are evolving, and she finally decides, as a journalist, to interview and record her contemporaries' experiences of life in China for a Western audience. In doing so, however, as an escaped citizen who has returned with an American passport, Nina puts herself in dangerous situations and finds herself needing to flee from the red terror once again.

All Hail the Brown Elixir of Life

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