Peter R. Onedera gives a graphic account of his life in Wednesday's Child.

The tropical paradise that was Guam in the early 1960s wasn't all about scented flowers, gentle breezes, lazy afternoons, sipping piNa coladas under the shade of huge mango and breadfruit trees, living in quaint Quonset huts with colorful curtained windows, and swimming in the azure waters of Tumon Bay. Childhood horror existed and the author was abused by his three older siblings.

Loneliness and isolation were the only things Onedera knew. When berating and belittling are constant, one...