Other Voices

Born in Barbados to a poor black family bordering a major sugar cane plantation, Tony Blenman immigrated to Canada in 1969. All he wanted was to be treated as a decent human being worthy of love and respect. Instead, he experienced multiple traumas in the form of sexual abuse by two siblings and a person in the community, physical abuse by his mother, and emotional abuse by his mother and others in the community, including more than one teacher who thought children learned through being beaten. As a child, he witnessed violence and abuse in his home, in the behaviour of others, and at school. A devout Christian who knew the difference between right and wrong, he was constantly called a liar and beaten for telling the truth. He survived a mother who was herself physically abused as a child. Through it all, he nurtured the light of his faith, his dreams of escaping poverty and abuse, and finding a new life, new hope and new purpose in Canada. Other Voices is one man’s journey to a life of hope, love, faith and perseverance in the face of sometimes overwhelming adversity. It tells the story of the many voices that shaped his life, for better or for worse. It is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and its potential to understand, forgive, and paying good forward to those who need a helping hand in their healing. Other Voices will touch your heart and soul—and sometimes your funny bone—with its wise observations on the human condition and its call to treat our children with love and respect to end the cycle of multi-generational family violence.