The first-time author and United States resident, depicts an honest recollection of life "back a yaad" in Jamaica and her current life in the United States, in her first book entitled Lost Crossing BroadWay: 40 Survival Lessons for the Wise Immigrant.
Lost Crossing BroadWay is a story and a recipe for surviving the obstacle course that faces immigrant families who dare to leave their birth country to start a new life in a new country.
The book challenges immigrants of the diaspora to rethink the stereotypical knee-jerk responses and attitudes towards attaining legal status and achieving financial independence, especially in countries such as the US, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Edusei seems breathlessly in pursuit of happiness, but not for herself, as she embraces the entire global community of immigrants, who are constantly changing themselves in this pursuit to fit into a new society, while all the time assimilating at the risk of losing their identity.
The book's full title encapsulates the challenges of the author's own experiences when she chose to uproot her family from Jamaica seven years ago, to live in the United States.
Edusei believes her book, which is based on some of her own experiences, is the immigrant's guide to achieving stability and success.
Edusei, the former CEO of the Consumer Affairs Commission, was the powerhouse behind the shaping of the Consumer Protection Act (2005) in Jamaica, and one of the leading voices in the movement to harmonise consumer protection in the Caribbean.
Her move to the United States expanded into various countries where her sense of fairness sharpened her advocacy for multiculturalism and a deeply committed philosophy of "one world, one people."
According to Edusei, the goal of the book is to inform and empower readers and to narrow the numerous gaps - perceived and real - between immigrants and citizens of host countries.
She said immigrants and non-immigrants are the same, and one should enlighten the other in the immigration process. Her work, she believes, will "foster understanding and enlighten people about the pitfalls and challenges of making a new home in a new country".
The Kingston launch for Lost Crossing BroadWay: 40 Survival Lessons for the Wise Immigrant takes place tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. at the Kiwanis Club of Kingston, 36 and a half Barbican Road.
Books will thereafter be available at Bookophilia at 92 Hope Road or online at www.angiemanning.com and www.amazon.com.