Yesterday's Sorrow: Writing my way to a new life

At four years old, Akeba Canning saw the world as a paradise. Born to Grenadian parents in Trinidad, she spent much of her early childhood eating mangoes, chasing butterflies, and idolizing her older brothers. But at age eight, a sudden upheaval from the only home and family she'd ever known sent her life careening in an unforeseen direction.

From Trinidad to Grenada to Canada, Akeba describes with heartbreaking candor the neglect, abuse, and confusion that infused her childhood and young ad...