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When Anita fell in love with the handsome American tourist she did so wholeheartedly. Her doting father, however, didn't trust his daughter's suitor, Thomas, and tried to discourage the marriage. Anita followed her heart, though, allowing bridges to be burned between her father and her, as she moved from Tobago to Miami. But Thomas' lies about who he was, and what type of life he had planned for his new bride quickly began to emerge once they arrived on the mainland. Soon, Anita's dream devolved into nightmare. With one hardship after another piling on top of her, was there any hope left for the young island girl?
In his fast-moving tale, Baijoo shows how armed with the right attitude and the choice of the right friends one can learn to become a conqueror instead of a victim in life. Anita's candle of natural warmth and goodness began to flicker dangerously when Thomas allowed his ex-wife, Sofia, and their two children, a family Anita had been previously unaware of, to move in with the newlyweds. It dimmed even further when her pharmacy job began to become unbearable due to false accusations and a hostile supervisor. When Thomas was sentenced to five years in prison on various charges, including driving under the influence, child endangerment, and failure to pay child support and then topped it off by telling her as he was being led away that he no longer loved her, the flame died, leaving only a smoldering wick. But her loving and compassionate nature had not gone completely unnoticed by her psychiatrist, Jonathan Cook. Nor had she failed to impress one of her older customers, a terminally ill widow named Lisa who, upon learning that Sofia was kicking Anita out of Thomas' house asked the newly abandoned wife to come live with her. As Jonathan, who was secretly in love with her, and Lisa worked to encourage her, Anita's candle gradually sparked back to life and began to shine again. With their love and support, she was able to grab hold of who she truly was inside, and when circumstances once again threatened to overwhelm her she now had the strength to not only fight back but eventually overcome them.
Baijoo's novel is one of hope and triumph. Blending Hindu and Christian principles on how to treat others and to live wisely in the world, he shows how the human spirit, if properly grounded in compassion and caring for both oneself and others, can surmount almost any obstacle in life. Key to this success, however, is cultivating loving friendships, for these are able not only to combat crushing loneliness but also support one in the journey to victory. Another vital point the author makes is that, when possible, one must make every effort to reconcile with others. For example, Anita does not want to try and mend the rift between her and her father by seeking him out in Tobago. He has never responded to her phone calls and e-mails so she has decided to move on with her life. But as Jonathan wisely counsels her, it is impossible to really know why she has not received a response with the distance between them. Perhaps her father is sick and could not answer her, or maybe his phone number and em ail were changed. Family is too important to abandon. As he puts it, "You must stoop to conquer. You must humble yourself."
Encouraging and uplifting, the author's new book should please his growing base of fans. Baijoo's stated goal in his writing is to inspire, and in this he succeeds quite well.