David S. Salazar Jr.’s childhood memoir brings humor, Ilocano memory, and Hawaiian Pidgin toan immigrant boy’s life in Na’alehu, Hawaii.
The move from rural Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, Philippines, to plantation-era Na’alehu, Hawaii, brought more than a change of home for David, known as Amboy. In Diary of an Ilocano Boy: Between the Pasagad and the Banyan Tree, David S. Salazar Jr. recounts a childhood marked by immigration, language barriers, and school life, alongside family violence. Covering kindergarten through eighth grade, the memoir explores the search for belonging while confronting family dangers.
Teachers, friends, and relatives helped Amboy navigate those years. Their support sits alongside accounts of alcoholism, neglect, physical abuse and his father’s infidelity, giving the narrative room for both connection and distress. School and friendship are part of the childhood David remembers, not separate from the pressures he faced at home.
Also worth a look: Bluetail and Traxxall Strengthen Integration, Enabling Seamless Flow of Maintenance Records and From Bakery Shifts to Seven-Figure Revenue: A Young Indian Founder’s Four-Year Journey in Australia.
One pivotal episode takes place in the summer of 1982, after seventh grade. Sent by his mother to find his father, Amboy discovered him with another woman and fled to the town cemetery. The Superman T-shirt he wore that day became linked to his determination to become Super Amboy, stronger and able to protect his mother and defend himself against his father.
Humor, Hawaiian Pidgin, and Ilocano memory distinguish the memoir’s approach to painful material. Na’alehue merges David’s recollections into a place of happiness and difficulty. For readers interested in immigrant childhoods and cultural identity, the book connects the practical challenges of language and assimilation with the personal task of finding a place between two cultures.
Available now. Get your copy here:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
https://bookspace.com/david-salazar
For interviews, review copies, or media inquiries, please contact:
David S. Salazar, Jr.
saladsjr@gmail.com