Portland author, Deloris Dallas will discuss her memoir, I Thought I Wouldn't Tell It: A Memoir of Hard Life and Hope. Her story starts on Jamaica, an island whose beauty often contradicts ugly moments in her childhood. From her birth in the rural island countryside to abandonment by her parents, Dallas faced life-or-death challenges earlier than most. When she was at a foster home farm, grownups were often enemies. As an adolescent, they often betrayed her trust.
But she remained determined to learn and grow, which led to a flight from her homeland to the United States when she was an adult. The journey forced her to leave her children and break the law, and also forced her to confront sex traffickers.
It was only through years of hard work that she was able to return to Jamaica, rescue her children from poverty, and bring them to the United States, where they could be safe. Although she has been scarred, she somehow beat the odds to build a better life for herself and her family.
Join an immigrant from Jamaica on a tremendous journey, and discover how she found out where she came from, who she is, and why she continues to believe that anything is possible in this amazing memoir.
- KBOO