Caribbean Girl in America

By Carla Richards

Believe All Things Can Be Done Through Christ Jesus! Do you feel that your innocence was taken from you? Do you believe that you've wasted years of your life going from pillar to post in relationships after relationships? Were there toxic relationships you were in and appalling things done to your mind and body? In your life time, were you too ashamed to even talk about it with anyone? Caribbean Girl in America will talk about Carla Richard's young innocence. This would later play a part in how she dealt with life, her family, and the demons who wanted to control her destiny. As a Born-again Christian and spiritual caretaker of her family, Carla tells her story of having a young Caribbean girl's dream of someday reuniting with her mother and father. Raised by an extended family as an infant, Carla grew up in a loving and traditional family environment. She grew up feisty, but yet naïve before being uprooted from her care-free lifestyle in the Caribbean. In these pages, she will share with you her sorrows and joys, and pray that you won't have to go through the hell on earth she once walked through. So, do you believe that this book is for you? Some of the contents in this book is not intended to glamourize the lifestyle I lived. However, the main purpose of writing my book, is to informed young women of all ages, that God created you for a purpose. That purpose is to love God first and then yourselves. Never allow anyone or any circumstances in life dictate who God created you to be. Always know that you have a Heavenly Father in Christ Jesus. The Scripture Says: Matthew 19:26 King James Version (KJV) But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9781635750300

Book preview

300849-ebook.jpg

Caribbean Girl in

America

Carla Richards

ISBN 978-1-63525-029-4 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63525-030-0 (Digital)

Copyright © 2017 by Carla Richards

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

296 Chestnut Street

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Life on the Island of St. Christopher

Chapter 2 - Going down Memory Lane

Chapter 3 - Journey into the Unknown

Chapter 4 - Bronx, New York

Chapter 5 - The Rodriguez Family

Chapter 6 - Becoming a Young Woman

Chapter 7 - Being Misunderstood

Chapter 8 - Depression and Anxiety

Chapter 9 - The Agony of Rejection

Chapter 10 - Attending High School

Chapter 11 - Pregnant at Seventeen

Chapter 12 - Oakland Place

Chapter 13 - Searching for Life’s Answers

Chapter 14 - Living a Crazy Life

Chapter 15 - Broken Dreams

Chapter 16 - The End of a Journey

About the Author

Chapter 1

Life on the Island of St. Christopher

St. Kitts is an island of picturesque beauty. It has many historic places. One of the many places is called Brimstone Hill. It is a fortress where the British and French fought to gain control over the island. As a child, I grew up on the Island of St. Christopher in the Caribbean which the natives call St. Kitts. My mother Frances Richards left me at three months old with Beatrice Phipps. I was raised by Beatrice along with her three children and her parents Victoria and Arthur Phipps. The Phipps were a wonderful family.

We lived in the country known as Phillips Village. I grew up with Agnella, Olivia, and Delbert. Olivia and Agnella shared a bedroom. I shared a bedroom with Delbert, their brother. There were many times as I got older I wondered how come I didn’t share the same room with Olivia and Agnella. I thought maybe it had to do with not being related to them. Either way, I was happy.

Beatrice Phipps took sole responsibility of my needs as a baby. My mother went to her and asked if she could take care of me. My mother told her she would return, but didn’t come back. She left St. Kitts and went abroad to England. Beatrice had to leave the island of St. Kitts after losing her job. She went to the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands to start work. Beatrice asked her parents if they could take care of us, and so they did. Beatrice was always loving and caring. Never once did she treat me different from her children. She always had a warm, kind, and compassionate love toward us. I began calling her mother along with her children. Mother often visited us in St. Kitts on her vacations. We were always happy to see her. I never felt left out of any family activities with her. She included me in everything. As far as she was concerned, I was one of her daughters. I had no idea who were my mother or father. Even when I got older, I didn’t see them. I only knew the Phipps as my family and they took care of me.

I often thought of my Dad because he also wrote letters to Victoria and they were read to me. I had no memory of him. I only imagined one day I would meet both Mom and Dad. It brought joy to my heart. I remembered writing my first letter to my mother. She asked Victoria to have me write her a letter. She wanted to see how advanced in school I was. Olivia read the letter before she sent it to my mother just so there would be no grammatical errors.

I was aware of my brother Dennis. He lived with us a short time and then went to live with his grandmother who lived in Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts. We referred to it as a town. Dennis lived near his dad Roy Delaney, stepmother, and other siblings. They were not related to me. Basseterre was where all the shopping centers were located. The seaport was located in the center of town. All the cruise ships would dock there while tourists came to view the beautiful island. The local fisherman would be there selling their catch of seafood for the day. Life in town was always busy. I enjoyed leaving the countryside and going for a visit to see my brother. While there, I would play with his younger sister who was the same age as me. It was always fun visiting my brother. We lived so far in the country and it was difficult to get there. There was no transportation traveling the dirt road up to the village. No one enjoyed the trip to the countryside. If you were going into town, you would have to walk in the hot scorching sun at least six to seven miles on a dirt road to Molineaux, and take transportation into town. Living in Phillips Village was difficult for anyone, but I always enjoyed seeing him.

Life was also very strict with Victoria and Arthur Phipps. Our names for them was Mama and Dada. Mama was the disciplinarian, and Dada was easygoing. Mama never allowed us to enjoy the festivities on the island. I believed she wanted to protect us. They were older in years, and not to mention our guardians. We didn’t go to the beaches on the island to enjoy the warm waters, and white sand with sea shells just lying there. There you would see the palm trees swaying back and forth by the tropical breeze. I never learned how to swim. The Caribbean ocean can be very treacherous when it comes to the strong current. If you are not a good swimmer, it was very possible to drown in the ocean and not ever be seen again.

Dada was more of a relaxed kind of person. We loved his cooking. He made the most delicious soup with giant size dumplings. Dada was known for those dumplings. He was not very strict, but when we got him upset, then his fury would come out. Dada was always so gentle even when we got spanked by him when we did something wrong. Our way of living was going to school and to Catholic Church every Sunday. We had to walk quite a distance down to Molineaux. The lifestyle was more modern with technology. Many of the folks living in certain areas on the island had electricity, so their way of living was much more advanced. As long as we lived on the island, we never missed Sunday service or school. We attended both church and school faithfully.

During the Christmas, season the people of St. Kitts celebrated Carnival. It is a festival where you had many different types of colorful costumes which was usually paraded by individuals and groups throughout the streets of St. Kitts. There were wonderful sounds of steel bands playing and people dancing. During Carnival, there was always lots of food. People enjoyed curried chicken, curried goat, and many more exotic foods. We were not always allowed to enjoy the festivities because most of it was in town, and we didn’t have the transportation to get there. A family member would have to come from abroad on vacation and take us into town.

Our life was simple. Anyone who saw us would think we were well to do. Our lifestyle though was somewhat primitive. We grew up in an era of having no electricity, television, or any modern necessities. We were all very happy together growing up. Some people lived in grass huts in the village. We were taught discipline and manners. We always had to respect others. We were never allowed to call grownups by their first name. To this very day, I continue