About the Author

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard was born and raised in the port city of Cebu, Philippines, a place she turned into her mythical setting called "Ubec" for many of her stories. She attended St. Theresa's College and Maryknoll College in the Philippines before migrating to the United States to do graduate work in film making. She later turned to writing and other literary work. She went on to write and edit twenty-two books. Brainard has taught at the University of Southern California, UCLA, California State Summer School for the Arts, UCLA-Extension's Writers Program. She lectures and performs in literary arts venues such as Shakespeare and Company in Paris, Culture Rapide in Paris, Beyond Baroque, the writers group PEN, Coming Together in Skokie, Illinois, Second Literary Symposium in Jackson, Tennessee, Filipino American International Book Festivals, Cebu Philippines Literary Festivals, and many Philippine and US universities. As a former Executive Board Member of the writers' group PEN, she represented PEN USA West in international meetings in Barcelona and Santiago de Compostela. She served as an officer in such groups as the Midnight Special Cultural Center, PAAWWW (Pacific Asian American Women Writers West), and Arts & Letters at the California State University, Los Angeles. Brainard co-founded PAWWW (Philippine American Women Writers and Artists) a support group that received funding from the California Arts Coundil She founded and runs PALH (Philippine American Literary House), a publishing house of fine Philippine American books. She is an active member of the Philippine and Philippine American communities. She has received several awards including a California Arts Council Fellowship, a Brody Arts Fund, an Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city Cebu Philippines, a City of Los Angeles Culture Grant, several USIS grants, California State Senate 21st District, and others. Her books have won the Gintong Aklat Award, the International Gourmand Award, and others. She is married with three sons.

Reviews

"This collection of 27 short stories, the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Growing Up Filipino (PALH 2003, reflects the impact of post-9/11 wartime sensibilities among Filipino writers living in the Philippines, the United States, and Canada. Although similar topics of family, memoir, and coming-of-age thread through both colections, the pieces are not grouped by theme, but nevertheless weave a constantly shifting tapestry of Filipino identity. The challenges amd conflicts of unique ancestry and struggles for identity provide a rich background for modern urban realism. The brittle memoirs reflected in "Here in the States," "Nurse Rita," and "Hammer Lounge", original legend in a "A Season of 10,000 Noses" and breathtaking tragedy in "How My Mother Flew," among others, are compelling reading. Some selections have terse, spare language, others are almost commonplace in their apparent simplicity; all capture moments and nuances of the modern Filipino experience that will envelope readers. Brainard has again selected powerful, evocative stories of family: of promises and disappointment, failure and resentment, tenacious and all-consuming love, anxiety and transcendent hope. There is plenty here to stimulate discussion and encourage an appreciation of Filipino writing and culture. This anthology is a worthy successor to the first volume and has appeal to an audience beyond high school literature courses." School Library Journal (Roxanne Myers Spencer)

"This collection of 27 short stories, the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Growing Up Filipino (PALH 2003, reflects the impact of post-9/11 wartime sensibilities among Filipino writers living in the Philippines, the United States, and Canada. Although similar topics of family, memoir, and coming-of-age thread through both colections, the pieces are not grouped by theme, but nevertheless weave a constantly shifting tapestry of Filipino identity. The challenges amd conflicts of unique ancestry and struggles for identity provide a rich background for modern urban realism. The brittle memoirs reflected in "Here in the States," "Nurse Rita," and "Hammer Lounge", original legend in a "A Season of 10,000 Noses" and breathtaking tragedy in "How My Mother Flew," among others, are compelling reading. Some selections have terse, spare language, others are almost commonplace in their apparent simplicity; all capture moments and nuances of the modern Filipino experience that will envelope readers. Brainard has again selected powerful, evocative stories of family: of promises and disappointment, failure and resentment, tenacious and all-consuming love, anxiety and transcendent hope. There is plenty here to stimulate discussion and encourage an appreciation of Filipino writing and culture. This anthology is a worthy successor to the first volume and has appeal to an audience beyond high school literature courses." School Library Journal (Roxanne Myers Spencer)