Extraction

This is the story of my life starting beginning with the period before my birth in 1947, a time when, I like to believe, the world was set to receive me into it. It includes escaping a terrible childhood in Canada, and immigrating to Kenya, Africa. The book culminates with the courageous step (taken by many) to extract me back to Canada, so I could resume my Canadian citizenship, heal from spousal abuse, and get urgent health care. I use the term “extraction” as I have fought life every step of the way, be the path good for me, or disastrous.

My life story first ‘came to be’ in my head in 1993. However, the first draft was not assembled until 2017, several decades later. I just did not have the courage to relive and expose it all.

To some readers, my life choices may seem brutal, even unwise, but much good came from them and there were many happy outcomes. More important, my decisions revealed themselves to be the stepping stones that molded me into a much better person.

Not everybody can write or wants to write. Most people say they do not have the spare time to do so. I want to write and I can usually squeeze in the time to do so as I sleep for only a few hours every night. This, thanks to the psychotic years of my third marriage to the very insane Abdi. During the turbulent years living with him in Nairobi , Kenya, I got into the bad habit of sleeping with one eye open, afraid to drift off for fear of getting strangled, even murdered. I would stay awake, alert, night after night – a slender red Swiss army penknife tucked safely under my pillow in the double bed we shared.

Just in case.

To me, it is better to ‘tell it all’ in an interesting book, than to keep a pretty exciting life under wraps forever. Before I found the courage to write my story, I would from time to time cloak snippets of my life in the sarcastic back and forth bantering of my Facebook and Twitter accounts. To some extent this also includes the liberties I can take when writing this book.

Several realities have emerged in my life. First of all, I am now aging and that means that my time on Mother Earth is running out. Another reality is that I need to rely more on my Higher Power. By telling my interesting, sometimes amusing story, I hope to help my fellow earth travelers to increase the level of faith they have in the world and towards their own Higher Power, Creator or as I call him, GOD. For my part, I believe faith in a Higher Power is a better tranquiller or stimulant than drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, smoking, pornography, vaping or smoking marijuana. Having a faith serves to anchor how much liberty you can take in the events of your life.

I know a new power – a strength, and bravery , have been instilled in me by my GOD because of what I have lived through. I have inspired many others over the years, even making them laugh and I plan to continue with it. I know I have the skills, guts and devotion to continue, age withstanding, in fact, because of the maturity and insight that age brings.

Anyways, I lived for decades in a self-imposed prison of confusion, fear and terror. Writing my story garners the useless energy that terror produces. I am now weaving the negative and positive scenarios of my life living and working in many countries into something wonderful - a greater sense of hope that there is a clear path ahead, no matter your age or situation. I can now freely aspire to lead a better, loving, giving and sharing life. I can now see a full circle in the horizon ahead.

As such, I want to share this remarkable story with others.

So here I am, stretched comfortably on my queen-sized bed in Athi River, Kenya, a wooden computer table across my belly, and my legs dangling so as not to irritate my back and awaken the sciatica on my right leg. My slim black laptop is positioned in front of me, and my beloved Collins Dictionary and Thesaurus is perched nearby. The laptop is light in weight but the Collins is six inches thick and ever so heavy. Almost five pounds!! Despite it bulkiness, its contents are exciting for someone like me, who loves words and the answers they provide.

When I left Canada for Kenya in 1981, I doubted I would ever return to Canada, as my travels took me further and further away from the place of my birth - to other countries - Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, to name a few. Yet, here I am - recently extracted back to Canada from Kenya, making a “Full Circle”in my life. I am a newly lit lamp. I am Tinkerbelle once trapped in her cloudy glass jar desperately igniting her little lamp at last. My journey is not over. No time to rest on my laurels. I have new areas to explore- writing, art and guitar lessons, a trip to China and maybe a ride in a bright hot air balloon, over the game parks of Kenya.