Yesterday's Sorrow: Writing my way to a new life - Paperback

At four years old, Akeba Canning saw the world as a paradise. Born to Grenadian parents in Trinidad, she spent much of her early childhood eating mangoes, chasing butterflies, and idolizing her older brothers. But at age eight, a sudden upheaval from the only home and family she'd ever known sent her life careening in an unforeseen direction.

From Trinidad to Grenada to Canada, Akeba describes with heartbreaking candor the neglect, abuse, and confusion that infused her childhood and young adulthood as she was shunted between family members. She was largely left alone to navigate complex trauma and found herself mired repeatedly in sorrow and anger. Nevertheless, she clung to the possibility of happiness, nurturing a love of nature, athletics, and the performing arts, and creating a rich inner world for herself. Full of intimate stories, from early sexual experiences with other girls to abuse at the hands of her adoptive father and inner battles with body image and gender identity, this book is a testament to the redemptive power of speaking-and writing-one's truth.

On love and grief, dreams and nightmares, paradise lost, and faith found, Yesterday's Sorrow chronicles the coming-of-age of one brave and vulnerable woman. These words capture the universal human experience of searching for one's place in a cruel, exquisite world.