I think this book has it's purpose. If Dr. Thomas passed it to his friends and fellow church members, I imagine they'd love it. They know him, after all, and would be interested in his life. But as a stranger reading it, it failed to hold my interest.

I dove into it hoping to learn about a different culture and the life decisions that led a man to immigrate to America. Instead, I opened a book with no central theme. Thomas seems to just write chapters here and there on whatever occurred to him at the time (there's not even a chronology). Nothing ties the narrative together. There is no central message. The mechanical writing and copy editing are surprisingly clean, but I think Dr. Thomas needed a content editor to walk him through how to make an auto-biography substantive and meaningful.

Lastly, the blurb heavily suggests that this is a religious book. Other than some of the quotes at the beginning of chapters and the occasional "by the grace of God" or "God answered our prayers" (all in the last 1/3 of the book) this isn't a religious narrative. ( )

Author Thomas grew up in Guyana, South America. Each chapter has a theme and starts with an inspirational quote and an incident that emphasizes the theme. He shares memories that influenced his religious beliefs and relationships with others. He describes the journey that leads to his immigration to the United States and love that ended with him becoming an American citizen. A short bibliography is included.

I received this book through a LibraryThing giveaway. Although encouraged, I was under no obligation to write a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. ( )

There is a very interesting little book that was written by a guy from the small South American country of Guyana. The title is Life’s Passages: From Guyana to America. Erwin K. Thomas writes a very honest account of what life was like in his native country. He proceeds beyond that point to his life in the United States.

Going back to his childhood, Thomas recalls a time when his father earned the paltry amount of what in today’s currency would be only three dollars per day. The household he grew up in was filled with siblings who sometimes went hungry. They would sometimes feel a need to swipe food from the family pantry at risk of being met with certain punishment.

It was in Guyana where the author received his education. The school headmaster whipped young Erwin for fighting another student. That misdeed is something which the author readily admits. The educational environment was one in which students learned more British culture than that of their own. The British National Anthem was sung in school.

As with all family stories this one has a mixture of human triumph and tragedy. His parents are now deceased. Erwin holds a Ph.D. and now lives in Virginia following a series of moves. He admits having experienced mental illness but seemingly is coping rather well these days. This is an interesting personal tale in which the writer shares his email address at the close of the book. I will be dropping him a line.

I received a signed print copy of this book from the author through a giveaway he had on LibraryThing and the following is my honest opinion.
In reading this book by Erwin K. Thomas Ph.D. it’s hard not to image how much of Neil Diamond’s “Coming to America” epitomizes it.
… On the boats and on the planes
They're coming to America
Never looking back again
They're coming to America…

… Got a dream to take them there
They're coming to America
Got a dream they've come to share
They're coming to America…

A great number of individuals who are going read this book will find a personal connection being shared with the author, especially if they’re or their parents had been immigrants themselves. As for myself, a product of immigrant parents, I can see a cultural shock they must have gone through, for I didn’t speak English until I started going to school for kindergarten.

Although, Dr. Thomas is lucky as English had been an official back in his country of Guyana, it didn’t prepare him nor the rest of his large to the cultural shock of going from a small country village to the large villages, towns, and cities we have here. While each member of his family had each other to look for support from, the most powerful thing his entire family had in binding all of them together had been their unrelenting faith for a loving and caring God. The same kind of faith particularly every immigrant family has had regardless of their religion.

One has to love and appreciate the author’s openness in his writing this spiritualistic biography in which he freely shares his family’s ups and downs from their financial and health problems to their misfortunes, and finally culminating in making the big move of Coming to America.

It’s had not to empathize with what the author and his family had to endure even once they got here. It was his pure steadfast grit which drove him to succeed in all of his educational endeavors which ultimately made him the person he’s today.

For his willingness to share this personal journey with others, how can I not give this author or this book the 5 STARS I’ve just gave it. ( )

This is a very interesting book and I definitely enjoyed reading it. It was interesting reading about the author coming from a small country so far away and all his experiences and the overall journey. ( )