Every Ounce of Courage: A Daughter's Reflections On Her Mother's Bravery

Every Ounce of Courage: A Daughter's Reflections On Her Mother's Bravery - Paperback

$18.34
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Every Ounce of Courage: A Daughter's Reflections On Her Mother's Bravery
  • Every Ounce of Courage: A Daughter's Reflections On Her Mother's Bravery
Every Ounce of Courage: A Daughter's Reflections On Her Mother's Bravery - Paperback

Every Ounce of Courage: A Daughter's Reflections On Her Mother's Bravery - Paperback

by Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino
$18.34
$18.34

Book Overview

It began with an unexpected phone call and a startling statement: "You don't know me, but your mother saved my life."


The late night conversation with an American World War II veteran revealed to Elizabeth Ann Besa Quirino the untold stories of her mother's remarkable wartime heroism and sparked a twenty-year journey of discovery about her lifelong acts of bravery and compassion.


Lourdes "Lulu" Reyes Besa channeled the heartbreak of a childhood tragedy into a profound sense of compassion and service. She helped raise three brothers while still a child herself in the early years of the 20th century. Then, as a young socialite in the heydays of 1930s Manila, she focused on meaningful philanthropy and charity work. During the merciless Japanese occupation of the Philippines, Lulu embarked unflinchingly on dangerous missions to bring aid and comfort that meant the difference between life and death to countless Filipino and American prisoners of war. She continued to face personal grief and adversity in the later decades of her life but met each challenge as before - with every ounce of courage, fortitude and grace.


Elizabeth Ann delved into a trove of old letters, photographs and recipes in search of the source of her mother's courageous spirit. In Lulu's story, she found a complex life full of joy, sorrow, selflessness and survival, and learned precious lessons about how the timeless bonds of family, the steadfast strength of faith and the power of an indomitable will can provide solace and sense in a world of uncertainty.
ISBN9798987555002
Author Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino
PublisherElizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino
GenreBiography, History, and Food & cooking
FormatPaperback
PublishedJune 2023
LanguageENG- English
Pages354
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Biography & Autobiography Cooking History Nonfiction Wars & Conflicts

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More by Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino

Every Ounce of Courage: A Daughter's Reflections On Her Mother's Bravery

Every Ounce of Courage: A Daughter's Reflections On Her Mother's Bravery - Paperback

Every Ounce of Courage: A Daughter's Reflections On Her Mother's Bravery - Paperback

By Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino

About Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino

Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino is a multi-awarded winner of the Plaridel Writing Awards for best in journalism, given by the Philippine-American Press Club in San Francisco, CA. Her food essay "A Hundred Mangoes In a Bottle" has won a Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Award. She was an awardee of the FWN Filipina Women's Network 100 Most Influential Women of the World in 2013. Elizabeth Ann is an author, journalist, food writer, correspondent and blogs about Filipino recipes on her popular site Asian in America (www.AsianInAmericaMag.com). Born in the Philippines and raised in Tarlac, Betty Ann's way of life was molded early on by her parents' farming and agricultural business. She grew up learning to cook from her mother, Lulu Reyes Besa who made dishes from the produce grown in their backyard and farm. Her childhood home in Tarlac was well-known to friends and family as the 'home along the highway', a welcome stopover and conveniently halfway between Manila and Baguio. She wrote the cookbook "How to Cook Philippine Desserts: Cakes and Snacks" [Filipino Cookbook Recipes of Asian In America]. She co-authored the history book "Statesman and Survivor Elpidio Quirino, 6th President of the Philippines. She created, illustrated and published "Color and Cook Food Coloring Book" on original Filipino food art. All books are sold on Amazon.com. Her writing has been published on Positively Filipino, the premiere online magazine; FOOD Magazine by ABS-CBN Inc.; Rustan's Sans Rival Magalogue; and Quirk Books Community blog (Philadelphia, PA). She has appeared on the TV network KACL- LA 18's "Halo-Halo with Kat Iniba" which aired in California and Hawaii. She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the Culinary Historians of the Philippines. Based in New Jersey, USA, Betty Ann travels often to the Philippines and throughout Asia in search of traditional recipes and stories about culture and personalities.

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