All God's Children

Joshua Heath

It is hard to know what to tell other people about my life. I have pictures in my head about my young life-my mother pushing me along in a stroller or shopping cart as we search for empty cans and bottles in the garbage bins in Regina. I don't like to think about what I realized later: she was an alcoholic, but she also was sick with AIDS.

She wasn't a bad mother though. My mom, Noella, loved me deeply. She made sure I was fed and dressed properly. I don't know why, but she loved to dress me up in little suits for church. She loved her church, the Miracle Center in Regina. When she was young,...