The Separation

FOSTERING THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD, VOLUME 1: In this volume, Desmond Tomlinson recounts his early childhood years on the tropical island of Jamaica and how his family was broken apart by the authorities. Together with his siblings, he was raised in a single-parent home. His father practiced subsistence farming and adhered to Rastafarian doctrines, including the then illegal use of marijuana in religious rituals. Desmond was homeschooled because his father feared public schools would result in a corrupt and oppressive "Babylonian" indoctrination. This lifestyle, being at odds with societal norms, triggered severe and irreversible consequences, including a violent attack by police. He and the other children were transferred to orphanages, divided, and placed in foster care. The mainstream Christian doctrines would replace the Rastafarian ones, and his family would never be fully reunited again.