Sign-In
Cart
Detour from Oblivion: The Legacy of Vista Del Mar
Hardcover
Publisher: Sandford A. Lechtick
Published: Feb 1 2026
Pages: 486
Weight: 2.30
Height: 1.44 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
At just 13 years old, Sandy Lechtick's life teetered on the edge. Caught in the toxic crossfire of a childhood with little supervision, his parents' bitter divorce, and his stepfather's incarceration for murder left deep scars. Sandy was arrested as the ringleader of a junior high school home burglary theft ring. His future looked grim-juvenile hall or worse.
But instead of incarceration, Sandy was sent to Vista Del Mar, a 17-acre refuge tucked into Cheviot Hills. Founded as an orphanage in 1924 by a visionary social worker, The Home wasn't just a residential facility-it was a sanctuary for kids who'd been neglected, abused, or simply lost. The mission was clear: every child deserves a second chance.
The grounds looked like a small village, a hundred boys and girls of various ages who lived in 1920s-style cottages on pristine rolling hills shaded by tall eucalyptus trees. But Vista's magic wasn't in the unusual campus; it was in the many extraordinary staff members, tough-love counselors, caring house parents, a sixth-degree judo black belt bus driver known as The Gentle Giant, a former professional NFL football star who became Vista's first athletic director, and so many others.
At Vista, Sandy found what he didn't know he needed-structure, encouragement, discipline, and belonging. Days were filled with sports, academic and religious training, and prepared meals. These weren't just activities; they were lifelines, helping kids stitch resilience into their stories. These are some of the stories of Vista kids of different eras who were headed for oblivion or uncertain futures, yet took their experience to become successful doctors, dentists, social workers, teachers, historians, musicians, and soldiers-an assortment of meaningful professions, loving families, and normalcy. Now in its second century, Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services continues to serve children and families in crisis. Its 100th anniversary is more than a milestone-it's a celebration of lives redirected, healed, and transformed.
Detour from Oblivion tells the untold story of Vista Del Mar through the voices of those who lived it. It is a tribute to the power of belief, second chances, and how a little orphanage became a powerful and dedicated mental health institution that has helped thousands and defied all odds in surviving.
Also in
Biographies General
Bluesland: Portraits of Thirteen Major American Blues Masters
Pete Welding (ED.)
Toby Byron (ED.)
Hardcover
Karl Popper - The Formative Years, 1902 1945: Politics and Philosophy in Interwar Vienna
Hacohen, Malachi Haim
Hardcover
The Children of Athena: Greek Intellectuals in the Age of Rome: 150 Bc0-400 AD
Freeman, Charles
Hardcover
Make It a Double: From Wretched to Wondrous: Tales of One Woman's Lifelong Discovery of Whisky
Sackier, Shelley
Hardcover
The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Isaacson, Walter
Hardcover
An Enemy Such as This: Larry Casuse and the Fight for Native Liberation in One Family on Two Continents Over Three Centuries
Correia, David
Hardcover
Agents of Chaos: Thomas King Forçade, High Times, and the Paranoid End of the 1970s
Howe, Sean
Hardcover
The Secret Life of the Savoy: Glamour and Intrigue at the World's Most Famous Hotel
Williams, Olivia
Paperback
The Badger: The Life of Bernard Hinault and the Legacy of French Cycling
Fotheringham, William
Paperback
The Devil's Diary: Alfred Rosenberg and the Stolen Secrets of the Third Reich
Wittman, Robert K.
Kinney, David
Paperback
Florence Kelley and the Nation's Work: The Rise of Womens Political Culture, 1830-1900
Sklar, Kathryn Kish
Paperback
The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn: Family Politics at the Court of Henry VIII
Warnicke, Retha M.
Paperback
A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
Purnell, Sonia
Hardcover
Living with a Wild God: A Nonbeliever's Search for the Truth about Everything
Ehrenreich, Barbara
Paperback
Seafaring Women: Adventures of Pirate Queens, Female Stowaways, and Sailors' Wives
Cordingly, David
Paperback
The Butcher, the Embezzler, and the Fall Guy: A Family Memoir of Scandal and Greed in the Meat Industry
Cherington, Gretchen
Paperback
Gift of Power: The Life and Teachings of a Lakota Medicine Man
Lame Deer, Chief Archie Fire
Erdoes, Richard
Paperback
My Own Devices: True Stories from the Road on Music, Science, and Senseless Love
Dessa Wander
Hardcover
Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice
Giuffre, Virginia Roberts
Hardcover
How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay: Tips and Tricks That Kept Me Alive, Happy, and Creative in Spite of Myself
Lawson, Jenny
Hardcover
Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History Behind Pearl Harbor
Kuehn, Christine
Hardcover
Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground
Dohrn, Zayd Ayers
Hardcover
A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon
Fedarko, Kevin
Paperback
Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast
Colloff, Pamela
Hardcover