Book excerpt: A Long and Restless Journey in Pursuit of Happiness with Empty Hands of Faith: An Authoritative Resource for Bushfallers is a brilliant how to collection of provocative essays that addresses the predicaments surrounding the rollercoaster and sometimes paralyzing crusade of wretched and disillusioned Africans deserting their homelands to seek lifes greener pastures overseas. It is a book on contemplative life that examines with concrete Biblical determinations the spectacular challenges faced by prisoners of hope - bushfallers - in their epic effort to migrate, assimilate, and thrive in their adopted American home. Bat has ingeniously and persuasively interlaced humor, wit, and the Bible to engage readers on a subject that is at times delicate, private, and mystifying to discuss publicly. He advances forthright strategies for bushfallers to follow in order to optimize every moment of their expedition. The book proffers reliable self-help instructions on how to dodge or contend with the abstract, confrontational, and perturbing experiences of the work-a-day life overseas. He proposes knowledge and skills needed in the areas of tactical positioning; indispensable human, material, and social capital; as well as mental and physical astuteness essential for persistence. Most importantly, Bat invites the bushfaller as well as the onlooker to develop spiritual character and pledge total allegiance to the Lord for faith, strength, and direction. This collection of essays is current, thorough, and complete in its coverage of the multidimensional challenges faced by the bushfaller. As the prospects for living and survival gets even darker and heartless at home, and as the immigration climate gets menacing and precarious for bushfallers overseas, it becomes even more imperative to be proactive, innovative and resourceful in handling lifes vicissitudes.