allan romkema

"Our journey to Canada began on a chilly, dark morning. We stood in front of our house as Dad pulled the door shut for the last time..." The author, then barely in his teens, reflects on leaving all that was familiar to him behind for a land that was so different. He explores the first four years of his family's immigration experiences in Canada and recounts how they found "their place" in their new land. The in-between chapters detail the slow process of integration: "A gem of a book. You convey the sustaining power of Christian love at a time of change and stress."  "What a fine book!... It is a tender and thoughtful personal reflection on your family's life, but it is also a universal story about the lives of immigrants."  "You are a man of words. You bring our past back to life in a way, we cannot. Thank you so much."