All I Wanted Was a Home

About the Book

The media and history books tend to depict orphanages as warehouses for neglected and deprived children. But Buckner Orphans Home near Dallas was a haven of security for many of the children who grew up there, including Clark Watts, who went on to enjoy a successful career as a medical doctor, lawyer, and in the military. It was at the orphanage that Watts developed his maximum capabilities, and he shares his recollections in this candid memoir that reveals that being an orphan—while, at times difficult—wasn’t always that bad. In a series of lighthearted, humorous, and sometimes tragic stories, he explores how he went from being an insecure and fragile nine-year-old child from a broken home to an independent-minded teenager whose graduation from high school was only one step in a prolonged education. At the orphanage, caring teachers and disciplinarians strived to inculcate children with a value system based on a strong work ethic and respect for others—lessons that would allow Watts to find a home wherever he went.

About the Author

Clark Watts was born and raised in Dallas and is a 1955 high school graduate of Buckner Academy. A medical doctor, he has operated a private practice, was a professor of surgery and director of the Neurosurgery Residency Program at the University of Missouri in Columbia from 1976 to 1991, and has held professorship positions at numerous schools. He served twenty-seven years in the U.S. Army Reserves, retiring as a brigadier general. He lives with his wife, Patricia, in Austin.