Air-raid sirens shatter the silence, bombs explode, shots are fired, and people run in every direction screaming. It is 1940 and World War II is raging in and around Calcutta, India. In the midst of all this chaos, a little infant is born. His name is Vern Phillips, the author. He was the eighth born in a family of twelve children.

Vern takes us on a rollercoaster ride as he and his family struggle to survive both poverty and the war. Along the way, he shines the light on what it’s like to live in a large, low income family and to manoeuvre through all the personal adversities that he had to overcome. Not the least of these was an in-house issue that led to verbal and physical abuse.

Vern Phillips shares his poignant stories of growing up in India, as he went from childhood to adulthood. Along the way he learned the meaning and value of service to others.

As a young school teacher, he wanted to migrate to a country that offered a higher standard of living where he could live and raise a family in peace and happiness. And so in 1969 he migrated to Canada, a country he loves and calls home today. But settling in to his new home had its challenges.

His narratives will move you to both laughter and tears.