Beautiful writing and a lovely story. The unusual narration adds an interesting spin on the story. Loved the Toronto setting in the majority of the book. Insightful commentary on the caregiver life as well as LGBTQ community.

Recently, my husband and I have been enjoying the crime drama Almost Paradise which is filmed in the Philippines and offers a peek at Filipino culture. This novel offers more of an in depth look.

MG (Mary Grace) Concepcion is an Overseas Filipino Worker. She leaves her husband Ale to become a nanny in Hong Kong. When she learns about a Canadian immigration program, which allows someone to apply for permanent residency in the country after two years of employment as a caregiver, she moves to Toronto. Her goal is to become a permanent resident and then sponsor her husband so they can build a better life for themselves. She works as a nanny but eventually takes a position as a personal support worker caring for Liz Cahill, an elderly trans woman suffering from Alzheimer’s. This job challenges her conservative values, but slowly a friendship develops.

The narrator is MG’s newborn baby speaking directly to Liz. The baby tells Liz her mother’s story which she knows intimately because “I have lived for years as a seed in the ovaries of my mother while my mother gestated in the body of my [grandmother].” But she also speaks of her own experiences as a Maybe Baby (an unfertilized egg) and as a fetus. I was reminded of William Wordsworth’s “Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood” which relies on the concept of pre-existence and suggests that children, as they mature, lose their connection with the divine. MG’s child begins by stating that “The former me, the real me, is fading by the second and there are things I remember, at this very moment and never will again” and “the more I come into this new body of mine, the less I will remember.”

MG is a sympathetic character. She sacrifices so much and works so hard in order to help her family in the Philippines. When looking after challenging children, she is very patient. Likewise, she is patient with Liz who can be difficult at times. I love dynamic characters, and MG proves to be one. She takes the job of caring for a bakla because she desperately needs employment and remembers a priest saying that homosexuals should not be judged. She believes she will be fine “As long as this person didn’t force her into living this perverse lifestyle.” Looking after Liz takes some adjustment: “She made mistakes with you, Liz. Lots of mistakes. She treated you like a nuisance. . . . Your confusion frustrated her. Maybe even angered her. . . . [MG was] an efficient engine to meet your most basic needs [as if] you were like a houseplant. Nothing more.” A visit from Ash, one of Liz’s friends, begins MG’s transformation. Ash says, "'I don’t truly know what life is like for you, but I imagine in your line of work, people don’t often see you as a human being with needs and feelings, am I right? But you deserve to be treated with respect. It’s the same with Liz. She deserves to be seen as a person.’” MG does get to know Liz and learns about her life and accomplishments. Her attitude changes and she becomes Liz’s friend and protector who tries to shield her from anyone whom she fears might treat her with less than respect.

The novel gives insights into the challenges faced by temporary foreign workers like MG. They leave families behind, often not seeing them for years, so are lonely and isolated. Ash is correct in describing them as largely invisible. They are often exploited; for instance, one of MG’s employers offers to let MG look after another couple’s children as well as her own but then keeps the money intended to pay MG for this extra work. “’Some families kick their nannies out on the weekend and they have to find a place to stay. So the nannies pool their money to rent a place together.’” Because they need these jobs, the caregivers cannot speak out. Their options are limited to “’Either endure the work or go.’”

This is a thought-provoking book, exposing the struggles of both foreign workers and members of the LGTBQ community. (It reminded me of the news stories I read about how Filipino healthcare workers bore the brunt of the COVID pandemic: in Quebec and Ontario, Filipino healthcare workers in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and private homes are believed to be the first such workers to die due to the pandemic.)

There is much to like about this book: interesting plot, memorable characters, and thematic depth. It addresses serious topics, but the unique narrator also adds touches of humour. I will certainly be recommending it to people.

“Those places people go to be a hero, to be an Overseas Filipino Worker, are all places constructed only through imagination."

The Story of Us by Catherine Hernandez is a sensitive, loving story about the connections we have to those who take care of us.

Mary Grace, or MG, is a native Filipina, but like many in her country, she wishes for a better life for herself and her family. For some, including MG, this means moving out of the country (and away from family) to become an OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker). We follow MG’s journey all the way from own birth to becoming an OFW in China and Canada, told through the eyes of her unborn child.

The Story of Us tells a story that Filipinos know all too well, but that not everyone may know the intricacies of. It’s an eye-opening experience that will resonate with any reader, highlighting the sacrifices we make for our family. In the case of MG and others, it's moving to an unfamiliar place, away from their family (while many times, having to care for someone else's). The experience is trying, but through the child-like lens the story uses, there is light in an otherwise difficult experience.

This narration creates a perspective that is first AND third person, and provides us with the benefits of both. The story is both intimate and distant, echoing the experience of OFWs.

As she did with Scarborough, Hernandez treats her diverse and complex characters with love and empathy; each is beautifully rich and beautifully imperfect but still lovable.

The Story of Us is a love letter to those who love us, to those who create a space for us, who see us for who we truly are.

I would recommend The Story of Us, I would warn that there is some triggering content. Read with care.

Unique narrator/viewpoint used to tell the story which was very effective. The novel is about an overseas Filipino worker, MG, who first works as a nanny and then as a personal support worker in Toronto, in the hopes of becoming a permanent Canadian resident. Shines a light on the tribulations and challenges of these occupations and the way in which the workers are sometimes taken advantage of - all this while missing their families who remain in their countries of birth. Very good diversity fiction that was well-written and which taught me about Filipino culture and the need we all have to be loved, respected, and understood. Highly recommend.

Thanks to Harper Collins Canada and Netgalley for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

The Story of Us is a stunning and emotional story told from the unique viewpoint of a newborn baby.

Mary Grace “MG” Concepcion left her husband in the Philippines to become an Overseas Filipino Worker. First, she goes to Hong Kong and then to Canada. On both continents, MG works as a nanny for several wealthy families who take advantage of her. But she does it all with the intention of one day sponsoring her husband to join her in Canada.

After her latest position ends, MG becomes a Personal Support Worker for Liz, an elderly trans woman who has Alzheimer’s disease. Initially, caring for Liz challenges MG’s very conservative beliefs. But the friendship these two women form is a thing of beauty.

MG’s newborn baby narrates this story directly to Liz. The second-person voice took a minute to adjust to, but it fits really well with this story. The writing flows nicely.

The Story of Us will take the reader on an emotional roller coaster. I felt MG’s loneliness, rage, happiness and hope while reading this.

MG’s initial attitude toward Liz was hard to read. But the bond they eventually formed was so heartwarming and uplifting.

It’s early in the year, but this book might be a contender for a new favourite. I need to read the author’s other books immediately.

CW: SA, transphobia.

Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

Delighted to include this title in the February edition of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction, for the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

Told from the POV of an unborn baby, The Story of Us by screenwriter and author Catherine Hernandez, the reader follows Mary Grace from her home in the Philippines to Canada via a stint in Hong Kong. Mary Grace, who goes by MG, applies like many Filipina women to be a caregiver. She wishes to make enough money to send home to her husband Ale to better their future together.

After some time working with children, she takes a job in Scarborough as a Personal Support Worker with Liz, a woman with Alzheimer’s. This is the heart of the story. Liz doesn’t always know who she is and often confuses MG with a chosen sister. MG beings her work with Liz with some hesitations drawing from her Christian upbringing but over time develops a meaningful relationship with this very special woman.

Once I heard that Hernandez had another book coming out after loving Scarborough so much, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I was fortunate enough to receive a copy from @harpercollinsca in exchange for my honest opinions. I also received an eARC from @netgalley and moved between both versions.

I worried that I would not be able to engage as deeply with the book with it being told from the baby’s perspective because of another book with a similar concept that I didn’t enjoy. I was happily wrong on this occasion and the structure worked perfectly.

I loved the character of MG and her very wholesome warmth. I found her to be smart, caring, and ingenious with a side of shrewdness. I found myself angered when she was taken advantage of and treated as less than and felt a swell of hope as she found her way.

The LGBTQ+ characters within this story were inspiring and I was happy to see the author take care in championing the community over just plopping a character in for the sake of diversity.

This author has a special talent to write characters with such depth and known to each of us if we look carefully. I am giving all the stars to The Story of Us and hope you will read it when it comes out February 28, 2023!

I loved reading from this inventive POV. MGs story was filled with compassion and intriguing details as she finds her place upon moving to Canada.

Absolutely. Brilliant.

Through this story, Catherine Hernandez honors the Trans community, LGBTQ2IA+ activists and heroes, the Overseas Fililinx Workers community, the Filiinx community as a whole, Mothers, and the countless invaluable Found Families that see and hold us when the rest of the world turns its back.

This book made me both cherish and resent humanity a little more, in the true Catherine Hernandez fashion. I raged, I wept, I was swept away in waves of gratitude and awe in how frightening and beautiful this little life of ours can be.

Written from the perspective of an infant, an unborn child, and even an unfertilized egg (a Maybe Baby) - waiting for their own life to unfold from the moment of their mother's conception until after their birth.. This was one of the most uniquely narrated books I've ever read.

This story made me want to hug my mom, and learn more about everything she's been through to make a life for me here in Canada, like so many other first gen Filipinx children I know and have met. So many of us have our mothers to thank. We will never understand what it felt like, and the reality of what they sacrificed for us. This book builds bridges toward greater understanding.

MG, Liz, and Ash were such MAGNIFICENT characters. They had my heart so completely, I never wanted to let go. Truly, like, I can't even speak to the colour and depth and kindness and humour and radiance and compassion that spilled out of these characters at every turn. I literally could not read the words on the page through the torrential downpour of tears that kept hitting me, out of every colour of emotion I could have felt.

An unforgettable read. I'm tucking this one into a very tender part of my heart forever.

The Story of Us is really, just that. It's the story of how, no matter how alone in this world we may feel, the ones who came before us are with us still. It's a love letter to our ancestors. It's a monument to all of the incredible individuals and communities that stood up against hate and fear and injustice with an undying hope that those after them, wouldn't have to. It's the story of our togetherness, and how powerful that really is.

A heartfelt 5 stars out of 5. Please add to your to-read list folks.

Thank you SO MUCH to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Story of Us is a novel about sisterhood, about blood and about family we choose, and about how belonging can be found where we least expect it.
Thank you Invitd and Netgalley for the ARC.
I found this to be an OK read for me, no more no less. 2.75 out of 5 ⭐️