Hope: My Way of Survival

By Gaetane Ricke

Hope and perseverance are the key to survival. Keana, a survivor of great tribulation, refuses to be defeated by her harsh circumstances.

In the absences of her father, Keana is at the mercy of her mother, uncle, and her older brother. While still a teenager, she is forced to leave home with hardly enough money to pay her bus.

Will she be able to survive the challenge life have in store for her?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685177072

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Hope

My Way of Survival

Gaetane Ricke

ISBN 978-1-68517-706-5 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68517-707-2 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Gaetane Ricke Campbell

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

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Foreword

Summary

My Story

About the Author

Have you ever wondered how life in a dysfunctional family would be like?

Keana, an energetic young woman and a survivor of tribulation, takes you through her tragic experiences. Keana is bestowed with beauty and smart; her shiny golden hair, piercing hazel eyes, and charismatic smile give her the appearance of an angel. Her beauty and wisdom make her the attraction of her surroundings.

Regardless of what life throws at her, Keana remains elated and positive. She loves people, nature, and animals; they are a refuge for her to escape her adversities.

Her father repeatedly needs to pursue work out of town to support his family. His work requires him to be absent from home weeks at the time, during which time, Keana is at the mercy of her mother and her older brother.

However, being a strong girl, Keana refuses to be overpowered by her harsh circumstances, so she sets up goals, and one of which is one day to come to America. Her main objective, however, is to get out of the home where she feels trapped. Throughout her life, she learns to utilize her hard-luck experiences to better her life and benefit other victims of similar circumstances.

In hope for a better life, faith and perseverance are Keana's daily companions.

Foreword

I have known Mrs. Gaetane Ricke (Campbell) for twenty-eight years. She came at my taekwondo school to register her son in June of 1989 and ended up taking it herself; martial art was a dream of her since her teen years.

At that time, I was experiencing some difficulties with the school I had just purchased, and I was debating if I should remain in Virginia or return to Florida where I came from.

Mrs. Ricke mentioned to me she had a business degree, and if I was persevering, she would help me turn things around. I decided to give it a chance; meanwhile I had nothing to lose. I am glad I did. Together we did, indeed, turn the business around. Mrs. Ricke wanted to know everything about the organization, thus, utilizing the information to compete with other schools that were displeased with my moving to what they consider their territory.

The information I gave her so impressed her; she saw as a great opportunity to tell the public about the superiority of the art. She said to me, and I quote: I am going to write a book on the superiority of the art/sport. She kept her word; not only she wrote one book, but she also wrote two on the subject.

I am mentioning it to illustrate her dedication, her warm personality, and the determination to succeed in whatever she decides to do. She thrives in helping people who have hardship. She certainly helped and encouraged me during my period of hardship.

I wasn't surprise when she mentioned she wanted to write about her life; what astonished me was what she has been through while growing up, plus the way she came out of it the way she did. She always had the best intention at heart in helping others. She will push the students to their limit, only to show them how successful they can be. I can testify that many lives were positively changed because of her help. As a matter of fact, she helps everyone she gets a chance to do so.

As she sees it, anyone who keeps faith, a positive outcome will triumph in their life; no matter how bad a situation is, one will prevail if patient. Mrs. Ricke is a living example of it.

I do agree with Mrs. Ricke, there is hope for everyone who keeps faith. She is the coauthor of Modern Taekwondo and Taekwondo at the Olympic, which have been successful for years. I wish her the best of luck with this one as well.

Soon Man Lee,

Coauthor of Modern Taekwondo &

Taekwondo at the Olympic

Summary

How did I get the idea of sharing my life experiences? Well, while on vacation in the country and away from the worldly demands, I started relaxing and enjoying the quietness of nature. While doing so, I gradually got flashbacks of past experiences long forgotten. It came to me surprisingly by sceneries of the place where I was at and the perfume of wildflowers scattered by the wind and by sounds that are only produced in the country.

The peacefulness I felt before all the flashed memories was similar to the quietness before the storm. Grandpa's estate came to mind as I drove in a similar country sites where I spent a short period of my life; short, but during which time, most of my experiences happened. At the age twelve, I was sent to a Catholic boarding school, and after which, I was sent to Levis City to further my education.

At the age sixteen, during summer vacation, I was back at my parent's house for a short period of time during which I experienced a great conflict with my mother, and I had to leave home. This time, it was for good.

I headed to the city with only two dollars in my pocket. The fear of not knowing what was ahead of me was still better than the bitterness of my mother. After buying my bus ticket, I was left with fifty cents. Lucky for me, a girlfriend I knew in boarding school was at the bus station waiting for the bus. As we started talking, wondering what got us to this point, I found out we both were in a similar situation; both of us were broke to start our journey, and both of us had no specific destination.

Then we decided to design a strategy to survive with what we had, which was crumbs. With our combined money, one dollar and fifty cents, we bought a newspaper and a bowl of cretons (pork spread popular in Canada). We used the newspaper to find work and cretons to help us survive during our period of search.

Starting in my early teens and most of my adult life was spent it in the city. I believe it was the reason my time in the country affected me so much. Anyway, after gathering a series of memories and experiences, not always in an orderly sequence, I decided to share it with others in the hope it might help or encourage someone in similar situation.

Maybe someone will read it for entertainment, and for others, it could be the sharing of some pain and suffering. For either reason, you are compelled to read it. Just remember, with hope, there is always the sun after the storm, and good will always prevail over evil.

Thanks for reading me.

My Story

Everything started while heading to the mountains about thirty years ago. Getting away from the city brought me closer to nature that decided to reveal to me some important information that compelled me to share with others in hope it will bring positive light to someone else, if needed.

As I remember…on my way to the mountain in this narrow rumbling road with its peaks and valley, not knowing exactly where I will end up, I was struck by the beauty of the countryside. I had forgotten how exhilarating it was to be enrobed by the peacefulness of Mother Nature. The site of the hay being rucked by the breeze and the smell of the long fields of purple clovers brought back childhood memories.

There were many similarities in this place to Granpa's estate. The amalgamated smells of hay, the sight of mountains, and the snaky rocky road transported me into a time when I was young and innocent.

As I ventured throughout this beautiful site, more and more memories came flashing back to mind, some more pleasant than other. However, I soon realized that my spontaneous vacation will become a therapeutic experience since it brought about so many nostalgic feelings and vivid memories.

Economic Condition

After World War II, life was pretty difficult for the people of Quebec, Canada. The country had already suffered hardship from the Great Depression, and now they had to deal with the poor employment condition. The national decline in the economic activity affected practically everyone, especially people living in the country who were not cultivators or farmers. These conditions forced people to seek employment outside the area, meaning work was available only if one was willing to travel miles away from home to get employment or to relocate near their new place of work; that was what most people did.

My father was no exception to this rule; he had a large family to care for, and money was a must-have. Since my mother did not want to relocate, my father chose to work out of town at Chibougamau, which is located north of Quebec City. In the fall, and often throughout the winter, Father will leave home months at the time to work as a lumberman. These men took the trees down with axes and chain saws and prepared them to be shipped on water later in the spring. It was hard work to cut trees in the snow up to a third of your body and carry them through the forest with only horses, but his duty called him to do so.

In the spring, after the spring thaw, my father would leave once again to work as a log driver, which is the process of transporting these logs by floating through rivers. It was extremely dangerous for the people who walk on these moving logs to keep them going to be manufactured or processed for sale. Despite the fact that this process was immensely hazardous, it paid good money which was needed for my father to support his family. Being in a tight situation, my father took whatever was available and counted his blessing for having work.

My mother, on the other hand, did not see the situation the same way; this dangerous type of work, she feared, might one day leave her as a widow with six children to take care of and to provide for. It was a constant mind struggle that accompanied her every day.

While Father was gone, my mother was left with tremendous responsibilities. Taking care of six children was time-consuming enough, but added to it was the maintenance of buildings and making sure they were up-to-date with the paint and renovation if needed repair.

Mother had to make sure the budget was maintained on a weekly schedule. The farmers were not always on time with their rent since the weather had a lot to do with the outcome of their success, but Mother had to make sure they would keep their rental payment coming since my father was on a monthly income basis.

Relocation

I remember my father debating the possibility to move the family to another province in search of a better life. He strongly desired to keep the family together. Unfortunately, my mother decided against the move to remain closer to her parents that we hardly visited.

The Estate

My family resided on vast acres of land, inherited from Grandpa. It was a secluded, pleasant, and most peaceful. At the time my great grandfather built the house, the place was fairly populated with nice, friendly, and caring