Domestically Yours: A Caregiver's Inspiring Journey by Annie Chua is a story about how one woman decided to leave her family in order to provide a better life for them. Annie Chua, a single mom, left her family in the Philippines for over two years in order to work as a caregiver in Canada. It took three more years after that before her family was able to live with her. She did this because it was the best possible solution in order to support her family. This is the story of her journey and how she made her dreams come true.

Anna Chua made a tough decision that few mothers could make in order to give her children a better life. In 2003 she decided to leave them and work in another country for two years. In Domestically Yours: A Caregiver's Inspiring Journey, Chua tells of the steps she took in order to become a caregiver. She also describes what she went through to get her children to come live with her in Canada. I liked that Chua told of her first reaction to seeing snow. I forget that not everyone has experienced snow.

This book is more than just Chua’s story of how she became a caregiver; it is also a guide of what to do to become a caregiver in Canada as well. Personally, I never thought of looking in a different country for someone to take care of a family member, much less going to a different country to watch someone else’s family members. I cannot imagine being away from my child for a day. I do not know how Chua made it through five years. I am happy that Chua was able to achieve her dream. I thought that Chua’s story was interesting and very informative. This will be a good book to read if you or someone you know is interested in being a live-in caregiver. This is also a good book if you like to read about strong women.

Domestically Yours: A Caregiver’s Inspiring Journey is an engaging tale about Annie Chua’s path to a new life in Canada. Annie was always intrigued by the caregiver system of employment. She decided to apply as she wanted to secure a better life for her children. This Filipino native knew what hard work entailed and she did several jobs in order to fund the fees for the application process. She was jubilant when she found out that she was successful in becoming a Canadian caregiver. Annie worked for two years in Edmonton. After this period, she would be eligible to become a permanent resident. Despite the odds, Annie became a permanent resident and subsequently relocated her four girls to Canada. They flourished in this new environment and later became Canadian citizens.

Domestically Yours: A Caregiver’s Inspiring Journey is truly inspiring. The self-penned autobiography by author Annie Chua is very interesting and descriptive. I enjoyed reading her account of her experiences as a new permanent resident, which exudes lots of enthusiasm. The language used is colloquial and is easy to understand. I love the fact that the author was able to display her tough spirit. Not once did she throw in the towel and decide to give up her dream of living the good life in her adopted homeland. This tenacity is admirable and the average reader can really learn a lot from this story. In addition, the book has a wealth of information for readers who might be interested in becoming future caregivers in Canada or elsewhere. This novel is a source of realistic inspiration and I recommend it to all readers who appreciate positive stories.

Domestically Yours: A Caregiver's Inspiring Journey is the autobiographical story of how Annie Chua changed her life, and that of her family, when she made the decision to pursue her dream of leaving the Philippines to become a permanent resident in Canada. She wrote this book to explain the daunting process of application. Her story begins with what life was like for her in Manila – married at 21 to Bong, she had, in time, five daughters. She had achieved well educationally and gained a degree in psychology and was a hard worker who found good jobs. Sadly, one of her daughters died at age two. She and her husband separated and she began her application process to the 24 Months Live-In–Caregiver Program in Canada. This is a way for people to gain entry to the country as child care or elderly care workers. After two years they may apply for permanent residency for themselves and for their family members who have waited in their country of origin.

Domestically Yours is not just a guide for anyone wishing to pursue the route of obtaining residency in Canada. While Chua explains the process, the difficulties and solutions at each lengthy stage of the application journey, the book is also a record of her own inspiring determination to find a better way of life for herself and her young daughters. The author explains that the details of the process may have changed since, but this is a book that encourages those who feel the need to aspire to a new life to persevere, find out all they can and begin the process.

While plenty of factual information is given, the book is wonderfully honest on a personal level as Annie Chua tells the reader about her doubts, patience, the culture shock and the adjustments she needed to make. I couldn’t help feeling thrilled that after several setbacks and the way she sacrificed five years of seeing her children growing up everything worked out wonderfully well for her and her family. Annie was always a determined and conscientious hard worker (her work ethos coming from her upbringing) and so her eventual starting and running her own business in Canada in order to find further self-fulfillment and meet her family’s financial needs is not surprising. An interesting read that inspires all to follow their dreams.