Bertha's son is an autobiography of a life filled with challenges and successes. Despite some serious obstacles in his childhood——-a cold, heartless father, sexual abuse by teenage relatives, and being unable to attend school until he was nearly ten years old—-Joseph Waddy was determined to succeed. Armed with a high school Cambridge certificate, a gateway to the world, Joseph set out to develop a career in the medical field and began working at the Georgetown Hospital in British Guyana. Eventually, he moved to the United States of America to escape his country's political strife, and to seek a better life for himself and his family—-but most importantly to be of service to mankind, which he did. Life has never been easy for Joseph Waddy, but beneath all the adversity is the triumph of Bertha's Son.