Lanakila Achong

Haole Boy: the Adoption of Diversity Lanakila Achong

When Michael Wester was just three years old, his mother punched him in the face and broke his nose. When he was five years old, three of his front teeth were knocked out. He spent the first ten years of his life learning how to survive an abusive and drugged-out mother. But Michael overcame the pain, fear, and hatred of those first years; Haole Boy is his personal story of how he fulfilled his dreams and now enjoys a good life. Author Lanakila Michael Achong reveals how he survived his brutal childhood and experienced unconditional love and acceptance at the age of eighteen when he was adopted by a multicultural family. He tells of his interest in sports, his graduation from high school, his career in law enforcement, and his immersion in the Hawaiian culture. Inspired to tell his story after having a child of his own, Achong delivers an emotional story that reveals the strength of the human spirit. It is a story about achieving self-worth and the ability to love and accept love in return. With photos included, Haole Boy demonstrates the irrefutable strength of love and how it can change someone's life forever.