BLACK ROCKS AND RAINBOWS
By Susan C. Riford
Article Written by Suzanne Ford
After my mother’s death I found the unfinished manuscript of this historical novel for young adults she'd been working on called BLACK ROCKS AND RAINBOWS: The True Adventures of Henry Opukahaia, the Hawaiian Boy Who Changed History. After reading it, I couldn't get it out of my mind. I wrote the last chapter, had a few copies printed and recorded the audio book. Eventually Blackstone Publishing approached me about distributing the audiobook, and the rest, as they say, is history. (For much more about the audiobook, here is the Black Rocks and Rainbows website.)
So far, it's solely an audiobook, but a printed version, with original illustrations, is now in the works.
My mother, Susan Riford, was a force of nature—an author, philanthropist and entrepreneur who was also a passionate proponent of theatre education for children. In 1958 she founded a theatre company in my home town, Auburn, NY, that is now one of the preeminent Equity companies in the country (The Rev Theatre) dedicated to musical theatre and children’s performing arts education. She wrote over 50 children’s plays and books during her 30-year tenure there.
Her fascination with this amazing tale of the young Hawaiian boy Henry Opukahaia began when she and my Dad moved to Maui, Hawaii in the late 1980s. The novel was her final work before she died in Maui in 1997, but not until she had participated in the event that brought the story full circle: the successful crusade in 1993 to bring Henry’s remains home to Hawaii from his grave in Cornwall, Connecticut where he had died in 1818, and reinter him at Kahikolo Cemetery on the Big Island of Hawaii, near the spot where he was born.
I realized as soon as I read the manuscript that this book was just made to be read aloud. As an actor, I was drawn to it for that reason, and as my mother's daughter and an avid reader all my life, I was driven by its very personal meaning to me. The story is such a fascinating and compelling adventure, fun to listen to for anyone, but especially for young adults. The language is accessible and straightforward, while capturing the time period (early nineteeth century) and exotic locations. The main character, Hiapo (later called Henry) was a real person, revered in the Hawaiian culture, and my mother's interpretation of his story is both suspenseful and deeply sympathetic.
Here's a short synopsis:
High on a cliff in 1807 Hawaii, an irrepressibly curious native boy dives into the sea and swims to an American merchant ship anchored offshore, embarking on an extraordinary adventure that will change history.
Young Opukahaia (Oh-poo-kai-ee-ya)
and his family are happily thriving when a bitter war between two rival chiefs
tears them apart. The enemy chief adopts the orphaned boy and forces him to
learn the ways of a warrior. Opukahaia manages to triumph through unexpected friendships,
until a shocking accident changes his life once again.
Saved by an uncle
who is a “kahuna nui,” or high priest, Opukahaia becomes his apprentice. One
day he sees a miraculous sight below him in the bay – “an enormous canoe with great
white wings like a magnificent bird.” It is the merchant schooner Triumph out
of New England, and it is irresistible.
Opukahaia signs on
as cabin boy. After a year of wild adventures—storms, pirates, daunting
adversity, deep bonds with comrades and, most significant, the chance for him to
master English—the ship arrives in America. Opukahaia realizes he desperately
wants to keep learning but has no idea how.
He is found weeping on the steps of Yale College by a kind student who leads him to the school’s President. Taken under his wing, Opukahaia becomes a scholar, and eventually creates the written Hawaiian language that is still in use today.
It is noteworthy and, to me, surprising that there has never been a full-length historical novel about Opukahaia, who is such a major figure in Hawaiian history and whose story carries a timeless message about the importance of education. Especially in this era of the dawning of deeper recognition of indigenous peoples and their heritage, this as yet widely unfamiliar but universal coming-of-age story is resonant and relevant to youth of any culture.
For more about me and my acting career, please visit suzanneford.com
Thank you!
Note: All proceeds from the audiobook and all other future
formats are donated to the Susan C. Riford Children’s Arts Education Fund (501c3)
The journey of a lifetime told in the audiobook BLACK ROCKS AND RAINBOWS begins with a ship: “An enormous canoe, with great white wings like a magnificent bird.” This is the merchant schooner Triumph from New England, anchored offshore by what is now known as the Big Island of Hawaii, and in 1807, the sight of it captivates a young Hawaiian boy’s imagination and spirit of adventure. Fifteen-year-old Hiapo Opukahaia, orphaned as the result of a war between two rival island chiefs, has been contemplating his future. He dives into the sea and swims to the ship, where he is invited to stay for dinner. When the captain asks if he would like to go to America, he nods Yes.
The audiobook BLACK ROCKS AND RAINBOWS, an historical novel for young adults, edited and narrated by actress Suzanne Ford, was written by her late mother, Susan C. Riford. The audiobook chronicles the gripping story of Hiapo – renamed “Henry” by his fellow crewmen – whose literal and figurative journey leads to the greatest adventure of all: a hunger for knowledge which ultimately changes Hawaii forever. The title refers to the lava rocks and beautiful rainbows of the Big Island, the vision of which Henry carries with him for the rest of his life.
Working as a cabin boy, Henry does encounter true-life adventures – pirates, storms – during the ship’s year-long voyage, via the Seal Islands and China, back to its home port of New Haven, Connecticut. He also learns to read and write English, unlocking his quest for further knowledge; upon arriving in New Haven, Henry realizes he desperately wants to keep learning, but has no idea how.
Weeping one day on the steps of Yale College, he is found by a kind student, a relative of the school’s president. Taken under the president’s wing, Henry becames a scholar. He wants to translate written works from English into Hawaiian, but at the time, there is no such written Hawaiian language. So he begins to apply the principles in an American spelling book – devised by Noah Webster, of dictionary fame – to the sounds of his native tongue. In doing so, he creates the alphabet-spelling-grammar system that is the basis for the Hawaiian written language in use to this day.
Sadly, Henry dies of typhus fever in 1818 at the age of 26. He is buried in Cornwall, Connecticut, until 1993, when he makes one final journey: a group of Hawaiian residents has successfully crusaded for the return of his remains to the Big Island for permanent burial. Hiapo Opukahaia has come home.
Suzanne Ford was inspired to create the audiobook BLACK ROCKS AND RAINBOWS originally written by her late mother, Susan Riford, a prolific author of children’s books and plays and founder of what is now known as the Rev Theatre Company in Auburn, New York. Her mother became fascinated with Henry’s story when she moved to Maui. “The novel was her final work before she died,” Ford says. “I took on the unfinished manuscript, wrote the last chapter, had a few copies printed and recorded the audiobook. The story is such a fascinating and compelling adventure, fun to listen to for anyone, but especially for young adults.”
Ford is working on an updated, illustrated book version of BLACK ROCKS AND RAINBOWS. “It’s noteworthy that there has never been a full-length historical novel about Opukahaia, who is such a major figure in Hawaiian history and whose story carries a timeless message about the importance of education,” she observes. “Especially in this era of the dawning of deeper recognition of indigenous peoples and their heritage, this as yet unfamiliar but universal coming-of-age story is resonant and relevant to youth of any culture.”
Praise
“This adventure story is riveting from start to finish and the action keeps coming. The ending, though sad because it’s a true story, was very uplifting and inspiring. A very satisfying audiobook experience.”
–-Amazon
Listen to a sample of the audiobook here:
And here:
https://soundcloud.com/user-158936241/black-rocks-and-rainbows
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