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Aida Bilog Sambat stares death in the face every day. As a hospice nurse in America, her work brings her to the beds of the terminally ill, those who are but a few steps away from death’s door.

Trained to care for the critically ill, hospice nurses are often seen as death angels—medical professionals who are tasked to end the life of a patient. But to Aida, who has held the hand of many a dying patient, a hospice nurse does more than prolong life or provide comfort to people during their final hours.

“Medical, surgical, and intensive care nurses help patients become well, [while] hospice nurses prepare patients for their journey beyond,” Aida writes in her book, From the Womb to the Tomb: Diary of a Hospice Nurse.

She’s seen some patients die alone and others with not a single cent to pay for their burial expenses. She’s helped relatives of the dying come to terms with death and most often weeps along with them for a patient that she has become fond of.

The Lopez Memorial Museum, the Ortigas Foundation Inc., and the Children’s Library are organizing Book Matters, a festival celebrating books and reading, from May to June. Meant to foster appreciation for Pinoy authors, the festival will have a creative writing workshop for kids and teens and another on fan writing.

Let your kids learn how to organize their thoughts and discover the magic of poetry in a workshop facilitated by children’s book author and Carlos Palanca awardee Carla Pacis. The workshop for children is on May 16, while the one for teenagers is on May 23. Both lectures are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and cost P1,000.

For Fil-Am writer Carina Montoya, writing two historical books about Filipino immigrants in California was an attempt in knowing more about her father who died when she was seven

Her recently launched book, Los Angeles’s Historic Filipinotown, released by Arcadia Publishing, traces the history of one of California’s largest Filipino enclaves. Historic Filipinotown was where many Pinoy immigrants settled and put up businesses during the turn of the twentieth century.

“Getting to know my father through my books has enlightened me about so many things about the Filipino community. It lit a flame within me to preserve this history that I am very much a part of,” says Carina, a full-blooded Pinoy who was born and raised in the Hollywood area.

Carina’s father, Tommy, a native of General Trias, Cavite, served with the US Navy and settled in Los Angeles, where he found work in Hollywood as a waiter at the Don the Beachcomer, a Polynesian resto-bar that catered to the Hollywood film industry crowd.

Like many other Pinoys who pursued the American dream, Carina’s father had a hard time when he first arrived in the US.

• Don’t forget Earth Hour tomorrow, 8:30 p.m. Will you be switching the lights off? Whether you have plans or not, here are a couple of ways you can join in to celebrate Earth Hour.
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Los Angeles–Carina Monica Montoya’s new book, Los Angeles’s Historic Filipinotown, commemorates one of the most distinctive Asian/Pacific cultural legacies in Los Angeles.

With vintage images collected from LA historical organizations and families who settled in and around Historic Filipinotown in its early years, Montoya, an LA native of Philippine ancestry, traces the history of this town, which was once home to one of the largest Filipino enclaves in California.

Officially designated by the City Council of Los Angeles in August 2002, Historic Filipinotown was where many early Pinoy settlers purchased their first homes, raised families, and established businesses during the turn of the 20th century. It is the first US community to ever merit a named area with distinct geographic boundaries.

Los Angeles City Council president Eric Garcetti writes the foreword for the book.