BookLife Talks with Maggie Colombe
A sponsored Q&A with the author of 'How He Robbed Me of My Three Baby Daughters'

Maggie Colombe lost her three children when her husband absconded with them and fled the country. After almost two decades, they were reunited. She wrote her book, How He Robbed Me of My Three Baby Daughters, to give her daughters insight into the early part of their lives and as a warning to parents.

What is the story behind this book—why did you write it?

Our family life came to a sudden end the day my husband ran away with our underage babysitter. She was our best friend’s daughter and, at the time, she had become a part of our family. About three weeks later, he came back and took away our three young daughters, who were then between the ages of one and five. Even though the police were called, he somehow managed to get out of the country with our children. They went to live in Copenhagen, where he and the girl brought up our three daughters. Sadly, 17 years passed before I met my daughters again. I wrote the book to tell my children about our family life before they were taken from me. I also hope that in writing and publishing this information, other people will realize just how easy it is for families to be devastated by one wrong action.

If you could pick anyone to give this book to, who would it be and why?

I would like to give the book to parents of young children. They know how vulnerable children are to being flattered by older people. Do you know where your children are and who they are with? Are you sure they are safe? Sadly, a young girl or boy may not be safe in the home of others. Everyone trusted my husband—even I did until the day came and it was too late. I hope that in reading this book, people will realize just how easy it is for things to go wrong. What happened to our family had a devastating effect on everyone concerned. In the long run, it didn’t work out for anyone who was involved.

Your book covers events that occurred decades ago, so how do you make sure you are telling “the truth,” or how do you refresh your memories when writing?

The events left me with deep scars, and the memories are deeply embedded in my mind. I was forced to live without my family, and the memory of this will always be there. How could I ever forget losing my children? They were the world to me. I only started to write the book after I realized that my daughters knew nothing at all about our family or about the circumstances in which we were all caught up. When writing the book, I sat and concentrated hard, and I relived the events that were already there in my mind. All I had to do was take the time to remember. It took me many years to put it all down on paper.

What is the one thing you most want to tell readers about you or your book?

I would like to ask them this question: do you take risks with your family? I know that we did. We opened up our home and lives to someone who was unhappy in her homelife. We all loved her in our family, but, despite her young age, my husband got himself emotionally and improperly involved with the girl, which lead them to run away together. Families need to take much more care of each other than we ever did. Something like this could happen to anyone anywhere and can destroy your family life.

What’s next for you?

Perhaps I will write another book; I certainly would like to.