Under Manila Sky - A Memoir on the Art of Survival

In this memoir, Irene Hecht recounts how she faced a drastic change from living comfortably as a young expatriate in American-ruled Manila to a daily battle for survival as a nine-year-old internee on the campus of the University of Santo Tomas (UST).

When she saw how Manila was plunged headfirst into World War II, she knew—even at such a young age—that she had to wage a war of her own: a war against hopelessness and surrender.

Through a girl’s eyes, Hecht chronicles the changes in adult behaviors after she and the city’s allied civilians were interned at UST. Her narratives provide an insight into how a child reacts to a situation filled with contradictions between greater liberty and imprisonment accompanied by the ultimate challenge of survival.

A poignant memoir of an American woman's childhood during World War II in the Philippines that honors communal and individual resilience.
-Catherine Ceniza Choy, author of "Empire of Care: Nursing and Migration in Filipino American History"

Irene Hecht’s "Under Manila Sky: A Memoir on the Art of Survival" is a somber reminder of the most serious casualties of war—the innocent children. The war is seen through the eyes of a child who quickly grows up to learn the great sacrifices that are made by ordinary civilians like her. This is a must-read especially for the young people of today whose lives are untouched by the horrors of war.
-Cecilia Gaerlan, Founder and Executive Director of the Bataan Historical Society