Who Could Have Imagined, Change Your Perspective, Transform Your Destiny, Dr. Aliette St. Hilaire, Author.
Some books sit on shelves gathering dust waiting to be picked up, no matter how important they are. Some books cry out, pick me up, I’m important. Then there are other books, books that literally leap into your hands; they are that important and demand to be read. This is one of those.
Although this memoir may be the stuff of nightmares, it is a story that is real, and the young girl, not yet a teenager, who transformed herself into a butterfly when she could easily have remained a caterpillar, has written it with complete honesty. Although few of us will ever have experienced her stumbling blocks, the dilemmas that she overcame, with an eternal optimism, as she viewed “every obstacle as an opportunity”, this book will place our feet on her shoes, like the youngster dancing with an elder, in order that we may witness the roadblocks she was, unnecessarily and cruelly, in most instances, forced to surmount. Naïve, neglected by poverty and circumstance, very ignorant about life, in general, she becomes pregnant at the tender age of 12. The man who is responsible loves her, claims always to have loved her, and she willingly marries him and becomes a mother, at the beginning of her teens. Although she was naïve regarding sex, she had an innate understanding of life and death, responsibility and self-worth. She never gave up on herself, even after facing all of the fences blocking her way.
She soldiered on in the face of parental fury, social scorn and societal judgment, to become a successful Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, even as she raised three sons, maintained a job, took care of a home, and remained in a marriage few supported, that is still going strong after 34+ years. What a role model she is, and instead of watching Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, we should be reading her book and learning how to solve our problems and prosper because of a faith in something larger than ourselves.
Although her own stamina and courage kept her in forward motion for many years, never giving credence to naysayers, when she discovered her relationship with G-d, she grew even stronger. She encouraged her husband and her sons to do the same. Her ability to make lemonade at every opportunity, even in the face of racism, encouraged all of them. I believe this book is not intended to proselytize, but rather to inform the reader that in order to succeed, you must believe in yourself, but also in something greater than yourself; you must judge less, love more, and have a positive outlook. She is the living proof of her philosophy. Her obvious beauty on the outside is no match for the beauty that exists within her. Her most meaningful quote in the book, for me, was the one by Kamala Harris who so often is accused of mutilating her messages. These words of hers are the opposite of the word salad description attributed to her: “Dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourselves in the way that others may not simply because they’ve never seen it before.”
I hope that although the book is heavily into Christianity, it will not discourage those from other backgrounds, because her message is universal. The book is very inspiring, and although she is promoting it for an audience that is in need in some way, hoping to help them, it will also help those that are not suffering, as her comprehensive thoughtful and compassionate approach to life, without anger, could easily be an inspiration for all, especially today when our world seems to be one filled with a great deal of chaos and conflict. We have all experienced shame and guilt at some point in our lives, some to a greater degree, some to a lesser one. How we faced those moments shaped us, and how Dr. Aliette St. Hilaire faced hers, made her a “giant among men” and women.
This memoir could be heartbreaking, but instead, it is uplifting; it could be discouraging, but instead, it is optimistic. The picture of the woman who graces the cover of this book is beautiful, both inside and out.