Four young children caught between love and hate—hostages to the cruelty of revenge. A deceitful American father and a naïve decision by a Filipino mother transformed their lives forever. Valorie, Veronica, Vance, and Vincent’s perfect world turned into a nightmare one hot afternoon in 1959 in Cebu, Philippines. What was to be a quick lunch with their father turned into a flight to America, where … where four dreadfully long years of running from state to state, hiding, and vanishing into the night followed. Kidnapped from the only world they knew, confusion quickly set in. At nine, Valorie, the eldest, liked seeing their father after his absence for over a year. Vance, a timid six-year-old, went along with whatever Valorie did. Vincent, the baby at three, cried for his mother while clinging to Veronica for comfort. Veronica, eight, was the only one who was truly panicked by what was happening around them—and she recognized instantly that she and her siblings would have to stick together in order to survive. In that moment, her childhood ended and the warrior within her emerged. Moving from state to state and school to school, avoiding the law, looking over their shoulders at every turn, the four Slaughter children found themselves fighting not only the heartbreak of separation from their loving mother but also poverty, discrimination, and abuse. Their only weapons were their deep love for one another and an unwavering determination to survive the trials they faced—and find their way back to their mother.
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This memoir has ever emotion in it. Happiness, heartbreak, fear, understanding, faith, hope, anger. It is so well written and also sad to know that this really happened to this family, these four children who did not know any better. It was not their fault, and yet they made the best of things, and for the situations they were put in, I felt were very well mannered and behaved children.
Bob was an American soldier, fought in Vietnam and had decided he liked life in the Philippines and decided to stay. He soon fell head over heals for a women, someone who was untouchable, and not within his social status. Things were different in their culture, but Bob was going to find a way. Everyone loved him, and wanted to be just like the talk blonde haired American. He had a way with words, and often had American goods to share. Coca Cola and cigarettes were often coveted.
Bob found a way to marry this woman, Lily and soon they had children and he swept her off to America. He wanted his kids raised the American way, and besides he had family there. But there was motive behind this, and soon Lily’s life was a horror she didn’t ever think would have happened.
Lily was able to find a way to get her and the kids back to the Philippines and was able to get help from her family to get back on her feet, back into her families lives and to give her kids, by now four of them, the life she always wanted them to have. Life was great, she had her own coffee shop, the children were well behaved and she had been able to escape what could have been a very bad, long, hard life.
Bob asked to take the kids to lunch one day. He would have them back shortly, and he even left her some phone numbers and a list of people who would also be there. Going against Lily’s gut, she said yes after having said no for years. So off, the four of them went with Bob. Off to a lunch that was full of lies.
He took the four kids and fled to America, where the four of them quickly learned their lives were going to be different and there would not be routine, and safety. But anger and constant moving and fear of what was going to happen next. For the next four years, the five of them moved from house to house, city to city, state to state. The kids were bounced from school to school, and mother figure to mother figure often being told to pack up within minutes because they had to leave.
This is an amazing story about the resilience of these four children, who often had to care for themselves and grow up very quickly. Never knowing when they were getting their next meal, or where they where they were going to lay their head that night, they stuck together. Helped and relied on each other to make it through each day, and tried to keep hope that one day they would see their mother again.
This was a very interesting read! It was one crazy adventure after another, and to think that he dragged these four children around like he did is sad. He was quite the swindler and often took advantage of anyone willing to lend a hand, or money or anything of value. It was amazing that theses children always seemed to look at the good in each situation.
A read for fans of The Glass Castle and To the Moon and Back. I want to thank She Writes Press and the author for the free book that I won off of giveaway hosted on Facebook. I really got sucked into this novel and read it within a day. I wanted to know what happened next.