Demetria Vargas

Family Journeys Through Peaks and Valleys Demetria Vargas

These essays are true narratives about the author's life with her Philippine family of origin. It covers her childhood and early adult years in the Philippines between the 1950s and 1970s and her more than three decades of working as a permanent resident in Canada, and then continues with her retirement years alternating between these two countries. Reflecting on her roles as daughter, granddaughter, niece and sister to six siblings, she describes joyful and unhappy incidents in the context of alliances and alienations formed between her and her elders and those between her and her siblings. Stories about her magnificent parents and other elders show how life's joys become more rewarding when shared with deserving, meaningful relations; those echoing from the valleys are reminders that when a hand is extended to somebody hurting, it invariably eases the pain and oftentimes inspires gratefulness and reciprocity. Both peak and valley journeys provide a glimpse into the all too often inexplicable intertwining of chance and choice as the actors in this sort of tragicomic family play sought validation for their respective sense of person at certain points in time.