A Last Survivor of the Orphan Trains: A Memoir

SHORTLISTED NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BOOK AWARDS CREATIVE NONFICTIONWINNER DA VINCI EYE AWARD FOR COVER DESIGN THE ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARDSHONORABLE MENTION E-BOOK NONFICTION THE ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARDSFINALIST MEMOIRS (Overcoming Adversity) THE NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDSFINALIST E-BOOK NONFICTION THE NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDSFrom 1854 to the early 1930s the American Orphan Trains transported 250000 children from the streets and orphanages of the East Coast into homes in the emerging West. Unfortunately families waiting for the trains werent always dreams come true--many times they were nightmares.William Walters was little more than a toddler when his sister deposited him and his brother on an Orphan Train heading to destinations unknown. Separated from his brother and handed over to a cruel New Mexico couple William faced a terrible trial. Through his strength and resilience however his life became a remarkable adventure.Whether he was escaping his abusers jumping freights as a preteen during the Great Depression infiltrating Japanese-held islands as a teenage Marine during World War II or courting the woman with whom he would finally build a loving home Williams astonishing quest paralleled the tumult of the twentieth century--and personified the American Dream.