Jean-Marie Faggiano was just a little girl living with her family in the Philippines when Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the beginning of WWII, the Imperial Japanese
Army began their occupation of the Philippines, and non-national civilians - mostly American and British businessmen and their families - were forced into internment camps. Jean-Marie and her family, along with over 3,600 other civilians, were forced to surrender to the Imperial Japanese Army and live as civilian prisoners of war at the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila from January of 1942 until February of 1945.

Through My Mother's Eyes is the true story of a young girl and her family, held captive against their wishes and thrown into a world where starvation, sickness, torture, and death were a commonplace occurrence. The story begins almost twenty years after the liberation of the camp, with Jean-Marie revealing to her two eldest sons, for the first time, what happened to her and her family during the thirty-seven months they were held as prisoners. Michael, her eldest son, now tells that story to you.

Through My Mother's Eyes is a book you will never forget, as you experience what life was like in the Santo Tomas Internment Camp through the eyes of a young girl who strived to make sense of it all. The story will give you a shocking and compelling view into the life of a family faced with tremendous crisis, counteracted by heroism, courage, love, and resilience.


About the Author



Michael is the eldest son of Jean-Marie Heskett (Faggiano). From the first time he heard the story of the internment of his mother, uncle, and grandparents in the Santo Tomas Internment Camp, he became fascinated with history, especially as it relates to World War II. Following his graduation from high school in Sonoma Valley in 1973, Michael was a Communication Studies major at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. Michael received recognition and won several awards for speech writing and delivery during that time, and chose to follow a career in journalism following college and his enlistment in the U.S. Navy.

Michael has worked as a news copywriter and producer for several talk radio shows in northern California. He has also written several articles and feature columns for newspapers and magazines in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Today, Michael is a radio personality in the North Bay Area, as well as an electronic technician at Agilent Technologies in Santa Rosa, California. He lives in Sonoma County with his wife, Angela, and son, Thomas.