The Orphans' Nine Commandments: A Memoir - Softcover

Holman, William Roger

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0875654037 ISBN 13: 9780875654034

Publisher: Texas Christian University Press, 2009

Synopsis

When Roger Bechan was six, his mother packed his suitcase and took him to the Oklahoma Society for the Friendless. He never saw her again. No wonder he and his orphan friends omit the tenth commandment - to 'honor your father and mother'. His long journey through three orphanages and several foster homes is recalled with surprising humor and insight. Eventually, the boy finds a home in a small Oklahoma oil town, obtains degrees from two universities, marries and raises three sons, and becomes the youngest director of the San Francisco Public Library and an award-winning book designer. The book is an unsentimental look at Bechan's life in the child welfare system of Depression-era Oklahoma.

About this title

About the Author

ROGER BECHAN, who later changed his name to Bill Holman, became head librarian of Pan American University; Director of the Rosenberg Library in Galveston; director of the San Francisco Library; and professor of the Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas. He is a mentor for the Orphan Foundation of America and has represented the organization on national television.

Edition details

• Publisher: Texas Christian University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0875654037
• ISBN 13: 9780875654034
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 246