A Reflection of Strength: a Memoir

Arnaud Bellevue was one of the many immigrants who came to America to live the American dream. In this memoir, he narrates his story of leaving his home country and of his struggles to acclimate to the American ways.

Born in Croix Des Bouquets, Haiti, his family immigrated to the United States in 1965 where Arnaud quickly learned to navigate the rough streets of Brownville, Brooklyn, at the age of eleven. This memoir discusses how he overcame the culture, language, and a sub-average start in school. In A Reflection of Strength he tells how he dealt with his unsuccessful quest to become a professional soccer player and how he rebounded to become a college graduate.

Now, more than forty years later, Arnaud talks about the decade-long fight he and his wife, Irene, experienced with the illness that took her life; the struggles of being a caregiver to Irene and being a father to his children; and the challenges of working endless hours to maintain his family-from the beginning until the end of Irene's fight with Multiple Sclerosis-to the opportunity for him to reflect on his past and build his future.