Helping her mama pack up a special balikbayan box for their relatives in the Philippines, a little girl sends along a secret wish to one day meet her family and to see and experience all the places where her mother grew up.

As a young girl, Becky is forced to hide from phantom Nazis, subjected to dental procedures without pain medication, and torn from her mother again and again. Growing up in the shadow of her father's PTSD, she wants to know what is wrong but knows not to ask. Her father won't talk about being a Timberwolf, a unit of specially trained night fighters that went into combat first and experienced a 300 percent casualty rate. He returns home with thirteen...

"Luis Miranda arrived in New York City from Puerto Rico in 1974 to study psychology at NYU, but he soon found himself drawn to community action, eventually working for the Department of Employment, the Board of Education, and the nonprofit Aspira, among many other organizations. In the 1980s he was a special advisor for Hispanic Affairs to Mayor Ed Koch, and he continued to serve in key roles for the Dinkins and Giuliani administrations. In 1990 Miranda...