One African’s Journey of Hunger and Sacrifice in Pursuit of a Dream

Some books inspire because they help us understand and see ourselves in the kinds of challenges and decisions many of us so rarely have reason to face. Patrick Asare’s story of hard-won success offers insight into what it looks like to overcome very real fears and incredible hurdles in life – with courage, optimism, perseverance, and love.

Imagine a room with nothing on the walls, no running water, no bathrooms, no sinks and sleeping on a bed of straw, no paved roads, no indoor plumbing, and having to get up before daylight and carry four buckets of water on your head from the river back and forth four times before going to school. The journey of our author was long, hard, and tedious, and his goals were unique only to him … Reliving the past and the value of self-confidence and the sadness that some children cannot pursue their innate talents because of external constraints. A story so powerful and important that teaches many life lessons, including understanding the meaning of poverty yet never losing sight of his goals and objectives … A must-read for all students of any age to cherish what we have and do what many others wish they did.

Patrick Asare immediately dives into the main point of his book: as an immigrant to America, there are parts of the culture that are so different to what he is familiar with, and this leads him to study his life and what made him into the person he is today. This book is a reflection on education, society, culture, and the impact that different forces have on a developing person, and he leads the reader through the harrowing but miraculous journey of his life. This combination makes for a fascinating read; it offers a unique perspective on western culture from someone who was born outside of it, seeking understanding, as well as educating readers on the social-cultural climate in the places he lived and emphasizing the importance of education.

As the child of an illiterate farmer in a small village in Ghana, Patrick Asare supplemented his elementary-school education by reading newspaper fragments used to wrap fish. From there, his story just gets stranger and more inspirational. Asare’s journey takes him to the Soviet Union, where he earns a BS and becomes fluent enough to teach Russian. From there he travels to the United States, where more hard work and perseverance land him in a distinguished career in business. Should be required reading in every high school.

Patrick Asare’s unlikely and astonishing journey from the child of a subsistence farmer in Ghana to a successful corporate professional with a beautiful family in America is truly fascinating and awe-inspiring. This is a story of inspiration, grit and resilience that teaches all of us to continue to work toward our biggest dreams.

It’s an inspiring true story of one man’s determination, against all odds, to make it out of the cycle of poverty and fulfill his dreams. I found myself telling most of my family about each new adventure as I read it, and made sure to tell my 9 year old son some of the particular details … The Boy from Boadua made me cry happy tears, which were promptly followed by sad tears. It made me truly appreciate life here in America. And it made me talk about its stories with everyone I knew.

Nothing stops Patrick Asare. An incredible story of how he escaped abject poverty in Africa by realizing at a young age the importance of learning how to read. It was his ticket to becoming formally educated in Ukraine and the United States. A truly inspirational and uplifting memoir deserving of Hollywood attention.

Ghana born Pennsylvania author Patrick Asare delivers his life experiences in his memoir – a book that not only is well written, but also provides one of the most informed visions of life from a vantage rarely equaled. As he shares his lifelong pursuit of a dream, he demonstrates that he gained firsthand experience with poverty and illiteracy in Ghana, with living in the Soviet republic of Ukraine and learning Russian, with immigrating to the USA and teaching in New York public schools while becoming aware of racism, with his commitment to school reform, with earning advanced degrees in electrical engineering to become a successful corporate professional, and now in addition to his articles and books on social, political, and energy topics, he frequently posts on his website pieces on Putin, the Ukraine and the current martial status, and comments pertinent to us all. While it is important to view his life journey as a series of successful achievements, the joy of reading this book is the candor and honesty and constant sense of discovery that exudes from every page.