Having a dream and the passion to follow it from the tiny island of Barbados to the United States, to countless countries around the world, is the journey on which Grell Bushelle has taken us in "Reflections - Jackmans to Kinshasa and Beyond". In his memoir, Grell carefully documents his ancestry, starting with Yaay, his great great grandmother who was brought as a slave from The Cape Verde Islands to Barbados. Continuing on, he shares his colorful details of his youthful life growing up in Barbados.
Grell relates with clarity his early carefree escapades in New York City. He recounts his experiences in the U.S Navy, including the painful episodes of racial discrimination while in naval uniform, during the ugly Jim Crow practices in the American South.
Writing with enthusiasm, Grell skillfully displays his penchant for travel as he takes the reader along with him on his world-wide trek. While serving in the U.S. Foreign Service, Grell lived and worked in France, Mexico, Togo, India, Senegal, Haiti, England, Zambia and Zaire. He became immersed in these diverse countries and familiarized himself with several national traditions. Grell Bushelle beautifully shares with the reader the many unique, exciting, sad, strange, humorous events that he dreamed of as a child - a dream realized!