New memoir celebrates Filipino roots, Batangas heritage and culture

“Batangas: My Sky and Earth” honors the late brother of  Vancouver-based author Bong Serrano.

Written as a heartfelt tribute to his older brother, Kuya Boying, who succumbed to kidney cancer in 2014, Bong Serrano’s debut work provides readers with fond memories of Batangueño life and culture through this meticulously researched book.

The province of Batangas is on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.  

“Publishing this testament to the most memorable times of my life fills me with emotions ranging from sheer excitement to a profound sense of fulfillment,” Serrano said. “Reflecting upon my childhood has been a labor of love, and I feel a deep sense of satisfaction in knowing that I have done it justice. Ultimately, I wanted to ensure that my precious memories of Batangas, and of our time together as a family with my dear late brother, would not vanish when I too am gone.”

“Batangas: My Sky and Earth” paints a deeply personal portrait of the people, culture, and traditions that shaped Serrano’s formative years. It transports readers to a remote era as it explores the landscapes and experiences of a child’s life unfolding in a little-known subdivision atop a hill. The memoir shares the universally relatable joys, challenges, and growth of Serrano’s childhood, while celebrating the inspiring love, guidance, forgiveness, and resilience of the surrounding community. It is a tale of connection, remembrance, and the power of storytelling to illuminate the rich tapestry of our shared human experience.

“This is a remarkable and engaging book on several levels,” said Howie Severino, one of the Philippines’ prominent journalists. “In remembering granular details of growing up, the author evokes a time and place in the tradition of the best memoirs. This book is important not just to a close-knit family but to anyone interested in Batangas in the 1960s and 70s. Colorful descriptions such as the sounds of mahjong tiles, and how the author’s grandmother had the common, and harmful, habit of smoking cigarettes with the lit end in her mouth, add vividness to the writing. If you’re of a certain age, references like these will bathe you in nostalgia. If you’re much younger than the author and I, this book will make you regret missing that era before mobile phones and social media, when kids still gathered in kitchens listening to an elder’s stories, and teens looked at the same lyrics in a magazine while singing along to a live guitar.” 

Published by FriesenPress, “Batangas: My Sky and Earth” is being distributed in hardcover, paperback, and digital editions. It is available online.

“I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to connect with others through my words, to touch their lives, and hopefully to leave a lasting impact,” Serrano said. “With each page turned and each reader immersed in my narrative, I hope to evoke a sense of nostalgia, spark conversations, and inspire reflection and joy.”

Bong Serrano lives in Vancouver with his partner of 30 years and loves engaging with good stories, listening to music, and cooking adobo when he’s not watching Asian dramas. You may contact him at  media@bongserrano.com or through his blog at BongSerrano.com. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the book will be donated to the Ateneo de Manila Scholarship Fund to support students in the university’s School of Medicine and Public Health.