Where Are My Children? A Story Eerily Like Ours

Are you looking forward to the release of Seven Years Running? If you enjoy these types of books, I have a recommendation for you.

A couple of months ago, I read a book called Where are My Children? by Cassie Kimbrough. My mom read it recently, too. We have been talking about all the similarities with our own kidnapping story!

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Cassie told a story much like ours: a parent fled with the children to a Latin American country. We saw several interesting differences, though.

Cassie’s ex-husband, Federico, kidnapped her two children and took them to Bolivia–his home country. He tried to poison the children against their mother. For a long time, she had no contact with them at all. She knew where they were, but complicated international laws prevented her from bringing them home.

Just as Federico kidnapped the children from Cassie, my father also kidnapped us from our mother. Taking us for what he claimed would be a “two-week visit,” he moved to a new home, refusing to tell our mother where we were.

Cassie explored different options for months. She ended up gathering thousands of dollars to hire a private investigator and flew to Bolivia to kidnap the children back.

There are many other parallels between Cassie’s story and ours. The story took place at the same time that our flight to Mexico was unfolding. In fact, Federico flew to Bolivia in the exact same month that we went to Mexico! (November 1987.)

Significant differences exist between Bolivian and Mexican cultures, but several things brought back poignant memories.

Cassie and her children fled Bolivia on a train. The description reminded us of the train we took into the interior of Mexico.

Cassie does a masterful recounting of the Latin American country she lived in: the living conditions, markets, and culture. “There is one right way to do things–the Bolivian way.” My mom faced the same culture bias in Mexico.

Though the legalities of our situation differed from Cassie’s, Cassie had to kidnap her kids back and completely change her identity and life to protect them. My mother did the same thing. The main difference was that my mom did so against a court order, committing a felony in the process.

Even though Cassie’s ex-husband had broken laws to kidnap her children, the authorities did little to assist her when she tried to recover them.

“Latin American culture dotes on children.” That sentence so reminded of us Mexico! Even teenage boys will play with small children and work to keep them happy and safe. We loved our adopted country. Bolivia fascinated Cassie, but she never assimilated to the degree my sister and I did in Mexico.

Where are My Children? is a fascinating page-turner. Live through the excitement, fear, and suspense that this woman experienced with her children. You’ll find your heart pounding! Well worth the reading time!

“Latin American culture dotes on children.”

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The book is available on Kindle and in paperback. CLICK HERE to pick it up on Amazon!Have you read a good book similar to this? Share your recommendations in the comments below!P.S. Special thanks to my mom for helping me write this review!If you’re not on our list yet, sign up for book updates and get a free chapter from Seven Years Running! Just fill out the form below!