From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Detroit (USA), May 28: The autobiographical cum biographical accounts of seven children of Clarence Joseph Pereira, who single-handedly raised the family despite the tragic death of his beloved wife when the last child was barely three amid dire poverty and enormous struggles, graphically narrated in the book, Echoes of Footprints, had its successful launch in Detroit, USA, on Saturday, May 26, after the grand release functions in Bangalore and London, UK.
Mayor of City of Sterling Heights Richard J Notte, who is serving his tenth term as the first citizen in 1993, released the book in the presence of a select guests from different parts of America and Canada at a glittering function at the Sterling Conference and Banquet Center of Sterling Heights, Michigan, USA, and said he was privileged to be the chief guest.
Daijiworld.com is the media partner of the book, published by Bangalore-based ATC Publishers and printed by Bangalore-based Brilliant Printers Ltd.
''Clarence Joseph Pereira, who took his children to the promised land of success despite the struggles and hardship that he endured, and the grateful gesture of the seven children in paying a tribute to their father in the form of a book is a beacon of hope in the present context of fading family values and gratitude,” the Mayor said.
The forgotten virtue of gratitude comes alive and into full flower in the book as seven grateful children come together in Echoes of Footprints to tell an incredible story of how one man from the once booming and prosperous -- Kolar Gold Fields -- survived the terror and horror that befell him, he said.
''That Clarence Joseph Pereira raised his seven motherless children to decency, godliness and great achievement is a glowing testimony to the greatness of family life,” he said pointing out that it was hard to overestimate the importance of the family in the present age, more so of fathers.
He wished the Pereira family well as they shepherd the next generation to the future.
Edward Stutz, Franchise Business Head of Arby’s Restaurant Group, the Guest of Honor, who graduated from Central Texas College and had served in United States Army, addressed the gathering and stated this book was a lifebuoy for drowning or fast disintegrating families, especially in the West and Europe, at a time when families are fragmenting and falling apart, an amazing book about a family that was saved from devastation because of a courageous father.
“As a family goes, so goes the nation,” he said adding that it could be modified as, “As the father goes, so goes the family.” Clarence Joseph Pereira, born to a rich aristocratic mother, was all set to be a heavyweight boxer of repute when fate pulled the rug from under his feet.
''In spite of not knowing where the next meal would come from, Clarence Joseph Pereira set out on a journey of life to lead his seven children out of the doldrums of distress and raise them to levels of greatness. Not only did he take his children from rags to tremendous riches but in addition clothed them with virtues and grace that all the money in the world cannot buy,” he said.
The book, Echoes of Footprint, captivates the heart, fires the imagination and stirs within the reader dormant dreams of personal situations as it shows how belief in God plus deep, united and committed family love and reverence to a parent can turn a mess into a miracle, a scar into a shining star.
He said he was inspired by some of the quotes and narrations in the book such as, “I shall Aspire to Inspire before I Expire” and “We have not inherited this planet from our forefathers but merely borrowed for our children “
He said Echoes of Footprints is a different kind of book. It is an autobiography penned by Claudius Joseph Pereira. But it is also a biography of his father, Clarence Joseph Pereira. But then it is also the autobiographical accounts of the other children and also their own biographical takes of their beloved father.
Interestingly, Nigel Fernandes, Managing Director of Asian Trading Company, the publishers, and Anil Peter Rego of Brilliant Printing Press, which printed the book, had flown to Detroit for the last of the three country launch.
Distribution Outlets:
Online: Outside India:
www.alphamedia.co,
www.alibris.com
www.amazon.com
Within India:
www.atcbooks.in
www.Flipkart.com