Trafford Publishing: Anonymous Servant: The Shocking True Story of From Shame to Gain

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Anonymous Servant: The Shocking True Story of From Shame to Gain

by Byron Donaldson

77 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-1431; ISBN 1-4120-1062-4; US$13.00, C$15.00, EUR11.00, £7.50

The moving, inspirational story of one man's journey to spiritual fulfillment.

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about the book about the author sample excerpts or Table of Contents catalogue info

About the Book

Based on the author's life, Anonymous Servant is the story of one man's journey from desperation to fulfillment. It portrays the problems, challenges, and struggles that we face in life. Yet, the author provides a map of how to overcome these challenges and achieve the deep happiness that God represents.

About the Author

The author was born into difficult circumstances in a border line state of the south. His roots are filled with deep wounds and anger and rejection. However, find out what becomes of his life.

Sample Excerpts or Table of Contents

I really don't know how to begin these writings. All I know is that I have been led by the Spiritual forces of the Lord to write this book. My beginnings are really not important. What is important is that I get the message out to as many people who will listen that their children are in danger. The reason that your children are in danger is because you don't know the warning signs of when a child is about to go in a direction that is completely the opposite of what you, as a parent, had in mind. To help you understand why I am writing this book, you first must understand that I am an expert in what I am about to reveal to you, and after reading this, you will truly understand why this is being said. I have "been there, done that" and done even a little more than the law allows. But this book is not about me---it's about the life and times of a child when they are struggling to be accepted. Most parents bring a child into this world totally unprepared for the unexpected. If a parent was prepared to deal with all kinds of situations that are sure to come about, then the road to being the best parent one can be would be less stressful for the parent and the child. I am not here to claimm to have all the answers; all I claim is that I will provide some answers to questions that will help you, the parent, become a real part of your child's life...

...I got the message that I was supposed to be by myself a lot. The point I'm trying to make is that we are children for a very short period of time. That time should be spent loving and caring for a child every waking moment. I grew up thinking that if I was going to receive any attention, I was going to have to do something that would cause people to take notice of me. I don't want to sound as though I am blaming my parents for how I turned out, because they did the best that they could do, under the circumstances. My parents just didn't know how to love me. My parents spent most of their time trying to figure out here we were going to live, and where we would get our next meal. My parents were just not taught how to love. I am not saying that because of my poverty I couldn't be loved; I am saying that if my parents were taught how to love me they would not have had to worry about how I would turn out. There is Love in the Ghetto, you know. It's all in what a parent knows and executes that will determine how a child will turn out. Now put this in your memory bank: a child does know how you feel about them, at a very early age, and from how you come across to them. So start from the very beginning by being the loving parent that God created you to be.

...When I went to school for the first time I was so afraid and unsure of what was going to happen that I tried to get out of going. When a child is prepared every step of the way for each experience in life, the child looks forward to each and every new adventure with excitement and a genuine love for the next lesson. You see, every step in a child's life is a lesson in building confidence and it all starts at home. Now, let's move on to grade school. This is where you continue shaping your child's thinking, and that shaping has been all very positive and encouraging. The time has now come for you to start talking to your child about goals. A child must have goals in order to have something to look forward to. I can only remember growing up wanting to be like other kids and be normal. Those were not goals, they were feelings of hopelessness. I wasn't encouraged to prepare myself with a good education so that I could lift myself up out of the pit that I lived in. I never had a goal until I turned forty-five years old. The point that I must make here is that every child must have a goal when the time comes...

...This is where you learn more about your child's friends. Ask questions but be very tactful in your questions. You will learn the real motives for your child wanting to have this particular person as a friend. You will be able to determine if your child overlooked something about their new friend. Just get involved and your child will love you for your interest in their friends. This is where I made some of the most vital mistakes in my life -- I started hanging around people just like me. They didn't have any positive agendas, nor did any of my friends have any goals. It all started off innocent enough, so I thought. We would all start acting out in our classes. Then we started getting suspended -- together. We then started acting out in the community by stealing from the stores. We began smoking when we go bored. When we did get suspended, we would never go straight home. We woul always go some place to plan some sort of excitement. Looking back, I see now that my life was way out of control. I didn't want anything out of life. I was very young and I didn't have any role models. All I know if that I was very bored with life. What parents must understand is that a child must have direction from a positive source in order to capture a young mind and keep it occupied. The friends I chose were all losers like I was. When I child has no direction, they will go in any direction.

...I was still defiant and just waiting to continue acting out. I was still very angry at my parents, but now I had picked out a new dislike, and that was for authority. I couldn't understand why the police knew me by name, and where watching my every move. What I didn't know then was that the police knew something that I didn't know -- that I was going to end up either dead or in prison for a long time. Well, it pains me to say that after being out of prison camp for only a short time, my parole was violated due to the fact that I had committed some additional crimes for which I was being sent back to the reformatory to await a disposition. At this point in my life, I was going through a real state of denial. I told myself that I was going to deny everything, even though I was caught in the act. What I want to say here is that my denial was like a dark room where negatives are developed; in other words, I wasn't going to get any smarter, and I wasn't going to get any benefits from any of these experiences, until I could find the light. I was running trying to catch a wave. A wave of knowledge that would allow me to outsmart the police, my parents, and any other person who was telling me that I should find a better way. It was too late -- I couldn't turn around. I had to take it to the limit. I was a child without a voice, and I wanted to be heard by any means necessary...

The year is now 1972, and I am in California. I had left behind a lot of angry people before coming to California. I had started using drugs very heavily at this point. I was taking things from people as if I had a license. I didn't care who I hurt. My anger was such that I wanted everyone to feel my pain. My friends were people just like me. They were acting out and didn't care who they hurt either. They could relate to my pain. We were all children pretending to be grown-ups. I wanted so much to be understood. We were all trying to make a statement that would cause people to stand up and take notice. I am reminded of a situation where the police were so hot on our trail because we had been terrorizing the city that we decided that we were really going to do something to make the news. Now, I mention this because when I child is looking for attention they will do anything. It's not important what we did, what is important is that we were not concerned with who we hurt. Most of us were trying to get back at our parents. You see, we all had a great deal in common. We were brothers fighting the same cause. We all hated authority and anyone who didn't like what we stood for.

I want everyone to just stop and think for a moment -- just what did I have on my mind when I did this? First of all, I had no fear of the authorities. The only fear I had was of my mother. Does that make any sense? The point that I am trying to make is that I didn't care if those police shot me when I was running. They were trying to get a clear shot. They would have shot if there was an opening. However, I ducked down when they ran into the street to get their shots off. I was totally out of my mind and completely out of control at this point. All I thought about was getting away. Anyway, someone had seen me hide under that partition so I wasn't hard to find. I was roughed up and taken back to the jail. The police wanted to know how I had gotten out of my shackles. It really doesn't matter at this point how I made my escape; what really matters is that I made another statement about what I believed in. I want everyone reading this book to make notes about these sudden spur of the moment outbursts. If you will notice, there is a pattern here -- a pattern of behavior that every parent should look for in a child. If your child is experiencing any kind of withdrawal from their present lifestyle, then you, the parent, should be concerned. What I mean by withdrawal is any behavior that is causing your child to strike out at your authority. When that happens it is time for you, the parent, to take a stand.

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About the Book

About the Author

Sample Excerpts or Table of Contents

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