New release ‘Falling Seven Times’ sheds light on the struggles of labor migrants in a powerful tale of survival and resilience

By Editor | November 7, 2024 | 0
Follow the harrowing journey of an Ethiopian woman navigating the hardships of working abroad to support her family

LUBBOCK, Texas – Author Mark G. Wentling marks his return to the publishing scene with “Falling Seven Times” (published by Archway Publishing), a fictionalized account of his Ethiopian wife’s true-life experience as a labor migrant.

The story follows Alya, an Ethiopian woman who unwillingly leaves her home in a desperate need to provide for her family. Without jobs that pay a livable wage in her country, working abroad is her only option for survival. What follows is a journey fraught with physical and emotional challenges: challenging work conditions, language barriers, and cultural clashes — all in the hope of securing a better future for herself and her loved ones.

With its poignant narrative, “Falling Seven Times” offers a new perspective on a story that is all too often overlooked. The book’s title speaks to the resilience and courage that labor migrants must summon each day, facing uncertainty and struggle while holding onto the hope of rising again. It is the author’s hope for readers to gain insight into the personal toll of labor migration — a phenomenon that is an economic lifeline for both the workers’ countries of origin and the nations where they toil.

“Alya’s is just one story out of tens of millions of the struggles of labor migrants,” Wentling states. “I want readers to take away the critical predicament that millions of people in the world face in order to find the jobs they and their families desperately need to survive.”

“Falling Seven Times” is now available on Archway Publishing and other major online platforms.

“Falling Seven Times”

By Mark G. Wentling

Hardcover | 6 x 9in | 318 pages | ISBN 9781665763233

Softcover | 6 x 9in | 318 pages | ISBN 9781665763219

E-Book | 318 pages | ISBN 9781665763226

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Mark G. Wentling was born July 3, 1945, in Wichita, Kansas. He was raised in nearby small towns and attended Wichita State University. He left Wichita at the age of 21 to join the Peace Corps. After serving with the Peace Corps in Honduras in the 1967-1969 period, he began service with Peace Corps Togo in 1970. One thing led to another and he ended up staying in Africa for almost 50 years. During this time, he had the privilege to know all 54 African countries. Following work with the Peace Corps in 1977, he worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), serving as its principal officer in six African countries. After his retirement from USAID in 1996, he worked as a personal service contractor for USAID in several African countries. In his post-USAID period, Wentling also worked in several African countries with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including CARE, World Vision and Plan International. He also worked in Africa under various institutional contracts. Wentling currently resides in Lubbock, Texas, with his much-loved Ethiopian spouse. All the seven children he helped raise were conceived in Africa, but they are now adults living in various places in the US. He would like to be remembered as a good father, an author and a humanitarian.

Posted by Glenn Blumhorst for Peace Corps Worldwide