The Also Ran: But a Champion

About the Book

Join in the adventures of someone whose boyhood was spent on the Caribbean, Grenadine island of Carriacou, one filled with the culture brought from Africa, via the Middle Passage, and maintained despite the hardships of the plantations. Continue with him as he pursues medical education whilst rafting and reggae dancing in Jamaica, then enjoying junkanoo in the Bahamas, following the Knicks in New York, admiring the majesty of the Hawaiian scenery, and bracing himself against the cold winds of Ottawa. Return with him to practise in Grenada, then onwards to South America to teach in Suriname where different races unite, but with time for football in Brazil, tango in Argentina, and savouring the rums of Guyana. Follow him to Dominica, the Nature Island, to the carnival in Trinidad, and to the yachting capital, the BVI in the Antilles. Settle with him and his family as they garden and dine on stew-conch in Freeport, Bahamas. Come sail and fly with me!

About the Author

Alfred Fitzgerald Brathwaite was born on the Grenadine Island, Carriacou, an island parish of Grenada in 1941. He considers his upbringing, under the influence of his mother, as unforgettably rewarding. His preteen schooling was derived from the British Standard English, requiring a shift from the local broken english. Planted in his brain at an early age was the inspiration to become a medical doctor. Secondary schooling at the Grenada Boys Secondary School led to a West Indies Federation scholarship to study medicine at the University College of the West Indies in Jamaica. In his desire to travel, extended medical training took him to the Bahamas, New York, Hawaii, and Ottawa. He then became his country’s first pathologist, followed by employment in Suriname, Nassau (Bahamas), with PAHO/WHO, Freeport (Bahamas)—his home base---, and the BVI. A name, originally intentionally derogatory, this Kayak has proudly plied his craft to many lands.