EVERYTHING WE NEVER HAD written by Randy Ribay

Four alternating narrators depict intergenerational Filipino sons and fathers spanning almost a century in the recording of Randy Ribay’s EVERYTHING WE NEVER HAD, all of them fabulous. Young Francisco works tirelessly, determinedly on California farms in the 1930’s, occasionally with regrets at leaving his Philippines home. His son, Emil, lives and works in poverty as grown Francisco deserts the family to pursue Filipino rights in 1965. Chris the son of Emil is limited by his father who controls his options but eventually leads him to discover his Philippine heritage in 1985. During the pandemic, there’s sensitive Enzo who worries not just about disease, but surviving his abusive grandfather, Emil, who mistreats the family that has taken him in. Unique, powerful renderings in both audio and in text connect for a view of how historical struggles create interconnected damaging familial patterns in the Filipino American experience. Find out more about the book and audio in the purchase link below.