a guest blog by author Patricia Angeles
Midpoint: A Memoir is heavily anchored in music, with each specific phase of my life represented by a
song or genre that evokes memories from that period. The book is divided into chapters with each short
story detailing important milestones of my journey, which are laid out in chronological order from my
childhood in Manila to my adulthood in Los Angeles. Welcome to the soundtrack of my life.
- Childhood – My music-loving dad would play records of Gloria Estefan, Swingout Sister, and The Carpenters around the house as we were growing up, and nowadays, when I hear songs from these artists, such as “Don’t Wanna Lose You”, “Anything For You”, “Breakout”, and “Rainy Days and Mondays”, it instantly transports me back to a simpler time.
- Pre-Puberty – I became obsessed with the movie Now and Then while growing up, and I would play “Band of Gold”, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”, and “No Matter What” on my old Fisher Price toy radio strapped on my bike’s basket via an old jump rope as I biked around town with the fresh air disheveling my hair, free of worries and without a care in the world.
- Teenage – I grew up in the ‘90s, and Hip Hop R&B songs would play repeatedly in my boom boxes as I struggled to find my identity and my place in the school’s social hierarchy. TLC’s “Unpretty”, Ginuwine’s “Differences”, and songs by Tamia and Boyz II Men were my constant companions in my self-discovery journey.
- College – College defined some of the best years of my life. My strict dad finally eased his restrictions and relented to a more reasonable curfew. As a result, I was able to socialize more. After school, my friends and I would flock together for drinking sprees, masked under the guise of group study sessions. Here, I learned how to chug like one of the boys, choosing beer over cocktails. After which, we’d frequent clubs in the metro, where hits by Kaskade, Paul Van Dyk, and Bonnie Bailey were my soundtrack of choice.
- Early Adulthood – My first few years living in the US was the peak of the early 2000s, when emo/alternative music and indie bands dominated the scene. Their music resonated with me and perfectly mirrored a huge part of my personality: pensive, highly emotional, and broody. I was an extrovert party girl by day and an introvert emo girl by night. Songs from Taking Back Sunday, Paramore, Anberlin, and Acceptance blasted through my iPod earphones, while my journal entries included recurring themes of heartbreak and unrequited love.
- Motherhood – My transition to motherhood was quite smooth. I willingly gave up vices from my youth and focused on building a family. In my book, I stated that motherhood is the point at which all human emotions coalesce. It’s a bittersweet journey and a roller-coaster of feelings. Motherhood is the ultimate act of “stepping outside of oneself’. As I fully embraced this role, I realized the greatest lesson I would learn from my dad – that nothing matters more in life than having a happy family. This realization hit me during the most ordinary of days with kids running around and Disney tracks playing repeatedly in the background, which now played as the soundtrack of my children’s childhood. Life had come full circle.
I’m forever grateful for music and its power to evoke the strongest of memories. What about you? What
is the soundtrack of your life?
You can read my review of this book here!
Midpoint: A Memoir
Author: Patricia Angeles
Genre: Memoir
ASIN: B0BK32QYK6
Publication date: October 20, 2022
Print length: 168 pages
Midpoint: A Memoir is an immigrant woman’s story of perseverance and building a legacy future generations can be proud of.
Patricia Angeles is at the midpoint of the average human lifespan. Decades of experience, mistakes, love, and loss have led her to contemplate what anyone might when they’ve lived half their life. “What kind of legacy am I leaving behind? What do I want my friends and family to remember after I’m gone? What are the biggest life lessons I can impart while I’m still here?”
Through this collection of personal stories, Patricia attempts to assess her answers to these questions, and perhaps encourage others to do the same. Spanning from her childhood in Manila to her immigration and life in Los Angeles, these stories touch on her youth, her acclimation to American culture, her remarkable career in the world of banking, her thoughts on motherhood, the important people who made her who she is today, and major events that forever changed the trajectory of her life.
A raw, honest, poignant, and at times funny read, Patricia aims to inspire her readers to pursue happiness against all odds and to not settle for a life of mediocrity. Through the power of story, this book ultimately asks: What are we but the accumulation of our experiences?
“Try better every day. Not only is it a reminder to stay aligned with my personal philosophy, but it is also a testament, an acceptance that I am flawed, as we all are.”
– Patricia Angeles
about the author
Patricia Angeles is a tenured and award-winning banking professional with an MBA degree in international studies from the University of La Verne. She grew up in Manila, Philippines and moved to sunny Southern California in 2005. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, and three daughters. When not writing or reading, she enjoys spending time with her family and traveling with them to new places.
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