National Book Award - Manila Critic Circle. Excerpt from "...the book is a chronicle of an important period of the history of our country. It is a detailed and moving record of a family surviving under enemy occupation, enduring the countless deprivations and humiliations of war, and doing so with dignity and with grace...it is a woman's story, an account of the determination to carry on, to impose a routine, to keep to the natural rhythm of daily life- regular meals, family rituals, celebrations of birthdays and anniversaries. This theme runs through the war narratives of women....