Summary

In Chapter 4, “Mother as Human Interdependence,” Garbes describes the “texture of [her] childhood” (82). She remembers growing up with her brothers and cousins. The time she spent with her extended family enriched her childhood. These holidays contrasted sharply with her home life in Pennsylvania, which “was comfortable and spacious, but quiet” (84).

Throughout her childhood, Garbes often felt lonely and lacking in community. She knew she was different from others, but unsure how. She was “plagued by noticing the differences” between her family and other families (86).

When Garbes asks her parents what their life “would be like . . . if they had never left the Philippines,” they speak of their immigration as inevitable (87). Although she understands their reasons for coming to America, Garbes often longs for the “communal solidarity” she knows “precolonial Philippine culture” was built upon (87). This culture was...