Martin Manalansan IV's Global Divas delves deep into the experiences of the Filipino gay man who finds himself outside the country. The LGBT community has always faced difficulty in their own home country, but what happens when they travel to where one is not only an outsider through sexuality but through race as well? Well-researched and thorough, Global Divas takes a macro perspective on gender studies and adds perspective by factoring in globalisation and economic strife as well. 

Grace Talusan's riveting memoir, The Body Papers, draws from her narrative as she moves from the Philippines to a New England suburb in the 70s. At school, she must face the abuse of racism, while at home, she navigates through the confusing milieu of her family's devout faith and her grandfather's sexual abuse. Alongside these, the book tackles immigration status, trauma, and Talusan's experience with cancer. As she returns to the Philippines as an adult, the writer takes the opportunity to reflect on her family's legacy and gives a voice to her once unspeakable past.

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The Mango Bride narrates the story of two Filipina women who travel to California for completely different reasons. Though both face oppression in their native Manila, the book highlights the stark differences in each one's lives. Amparo Guerrero travels to become a Tagalog interpreter for Filipinos in crisis while Beverly Obejas relies on a mail order bride service to take her away from a life of poverty and strife. Devastating yet sadly realistic, The Mango Bride highlights the sacrifices Filipinas make to better their lives away from the Philippines. 

Written amid the turbulent mid-century times of the 20th century, Carlos Bulosan's America is in the Heart sheds light on the harsh realities of immigrants in America. His book, which is semi-autobiographical, begins with the protagonist's rural childhood in the Philippines, where his family struggles as peasants affected by the politics of both American and Spanish colonisers. Moving to California, the book narrates how racism, abuse, and labour practices were somehow intertwined into the American dream for Filipino migrants at the time. 

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Mia Alvar gives voice to the Philippine diaspora through her anthology of tales entitled In the Country: Stories. Through these nine narratives, Alvar explores the various circumstances that surround our countrymen in their quest for a better life. In one of her stories, a pharmacist smuggles drugs from New York to Manila to aid his dying father; in another, a Filipina in Bahrain questions her marriage; lastly, a Manileño kolehiyala ponders about her brother's life abroad.

Undocumented citizens make up a significant portion of immigrants in the United States. Jose Antonio Vargas, whose family brought him to the US at the age of 16, looks back at his 20-year journey to belong both culturally and politically. "This book is the closest thing I have to freedom," Vargas says. Reflecting on homelessness and fear, Vargas reminisces on his experiences in a country that "does not consider [him] one of its homes". 

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