Marga Ortigas

A gripping tale of loss, betrayal, and redemption set across the porous maritime borders of Southeast Asia and the remote islands of the Pacific. In God's Ashes, an archipelago of displaced characters—refugees, dissidents, and indigents—converge in an unseen transnational crime. Years later, their hard-won reshaped identities threaten to crumble when one among them disappears. The ensuing search could upend the...

The House on Calle Sombra follows the fates and fortunes of the esteemed Castillo de Montijo family over three generations. Set in the Philippines—a tropical island nation where truth blends with fiction—none of the Castillos is quite as perceived. Successful patriarch Don Federico arrived from Spain as a penniless orphan. Formidable matriarch Doña Fatimah is a native Muslim fugitive. And...

From reporting to reflecting, field notes for the soul. In this collection of poignant and uplifting essays, seasoned international journalist Marga Ortigas shares what she's learned from over two decades of covering conflict, humanitarian crises, and political turmoil. Each chapter explores a different assignment location, taking you up-close as the author reflects on what endures after life's triumphs and tragedies....

Mercurial meditations on adulthood, mortality, and menopause (as told by an unprepared Gen-Xer). "I imagine I am not the only girl who was unprepared to be middle-aged." WTF - Woman Turning Fifty is a collection of savagely personal 'postcards'—or eclectic experiential essays—from a former journalist on the margins of middle age. Pondering age-old questions about life, maturity, and loss, the...