A sickly child who was not expected to make it beyond age 5 defies the odds and survives, thanks to the love of a nurturing mother, the kindness and generosity of immediate and extended family and the community at large. They also help soften the blow of the loss of a father at an early age. As a teenager he starts early on grappling with questions of social justice, identity and citizenship rights under the anachronistic feudal monarchy. Recognising education to be the key to understanding the issues, he concentrates on the pursuit of knowledge at the Menelik II Secondary School followed by Haile Selassie I Military Academy and later at Zagreb University medical school eventually becoming an officer in the imperial army and a military doctor. The journey takes him to three continents meeting some wonderful people who impacted his life along the way. It is a story about growing up second class citizen in one's own country, of student activism, the revolution and its aftermath, life in exile in a foreign land, and above all, it is a story of an abiding love for a country in all its multicultural splendour and its people with all their quirkiness and complexity. The author expresses his hope for a united, democratic and progressive Ethiopia with equal justice for all its citizens.
