Who Will Be My Mother's Keeper

Book excerpt: Katie Stakolich and Dr. Alfred Aidoo were born into about as different of circumstances as humanly possible. Katie grew up in California, living most of her life with a mentally ill mother who dragged her four children from one unstable living situation to the next, repeatedly exposing her kids to episodes of abuse, neglect and abandonment. Meanwhile Alfred grew up on the other side of the world in the West Africa nation of Ghana. His parents divorced when he was young, and since then his father has served as both mother and father to Alfred and his brother. His father was a respected schoolteacher, but they still struggled to eke out a life on the margins. But he always emphasized the Christian value of putting God and others before yourself in everything you do. While Katie was busy raising two sons and working in a grocery store, Alfred was caught up in the busy world of practicing medicine, serving as a minister, and being a husband and father to two young daughters. As the story goes, Katie’s Mom moved to Germany to be with friends she met on the internet. Eventually, this led her to Ghana where she became engaged to a man less than half her age. The whereabouts of Katie’s missing mother finally came to light after she was involved in a serious car crash that left her in the emergency room of the Ghanaian hospital where Alfred was her doctor. Fearing his patient might die alone, and concerned about the intentions of her young fiance', Alfred exhausted every avenue trying to locate her next of kin. That is how Alfred met Katie. Over time, Alfred wound up not only treating his patient lying in the hospital bed, but also her family back in the United States that had been broken by years of living with mentally illness. Alfred’s compassion for others touched Katie’s heart, and his spiritual guidance took root within her psyche. Her path to inner peace and contentment started with forgiving her mother. The arduous journey continues to this day as she builds on a foundation of faith in God.