Book Review- Displaced: A Memoir

Book Review- Displaced: A Memoir by Esther Wiebe

Reviewed by Cheryl Barkman Skupa

Esther Wiebe begins her memoir in the middle of the story—the last few days before she and three of her siblings escape their restrictive Mennonite colony in Bolivia. Eleven-year-old Esther is the youngest in a family of fourteen children whose parents have died. The black-clad elders of the colony church have made their somber visit and pronounced without any trace of compassion that the four youngest children will be raised in different families. The father of the family which Esther is destined for is known to beat his children. Together with help from older siblings and a cousin, Esther’s remaining family hastily plans to leave for Canada where many of their relatives and one of their older sisters live. On this last day, some of the children have gone to church to avoid any suspicions. Young Esther stays at home to pack and watch for any neighbors who might drop in and see their suitcases, since any unusual activity would undoubtedly be reported to the elders. Esther touches the table and the chairs; she walks around the yard absorbing all the details of home.

She explains, “This was my home, where I was born. Living on this farm in Bolivia, within this Mennonite Colony, was all I’d ever known. But in a few short hours, it would be over. Forever. Never to come back. Our family was shattered and bruised, and the church was planning to take us children away.” (3)

Esther comments on the scent of the citrus trees, the warm dirt of the road, the rough cement of the cistern, the worn table where countless meals were eaten, bread was made, quilts were pieced, and around which conversation upon conversation lasted into the night. But this day, after church and a hasty lunch, the children flatten their bags into the bottom of the horse drawn cart and slowly leave the colony. Esther describes the final sights of her home:

“I felt desperate to seal each detail into my memory and wished we were driving slower. My eyes and nose began to sting. I blinked hard; nothing could blur my vision. The story of Lot’s wife turning into a pillar of salt for looking back as the pair fled passed through my mind. What if I turn into salt? I craned my neck as long and as hard as I could. As it receded from view, our farm looked small. I could barely see the house and trees at its side. It was completely out of sight as we crossed the small bridge we’d nicknamed ‘Donkey Bridge’ and made the final turn out of the village and into ‘the world.’ The sun went down, and darkness fell as we rode the open wagon through the countryside.” (13)

The excitement of their airplane flights first to Brazil, then Miami, Toronto, and finally Calgary are only temporary. When they arrive at Calgary, the feelings of abandonment return with the cold wind as they realize their older sister and her husband (who had previously immigrated) were nowhere to be seen. In a complicated mix-up, the young family grapples with a closing airport, inadequate clothing, and limited knowledge of the language and customs of this strange world.

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