Lipad Mga Kwento Ng Pag Asa Mula Sa Pilipinas

Violence, suffering, hunger, death, grief, and despair would be the regular content of social and mainstream media. The negatives are often highlighted. Rarely does one find something soothing and inspiring for the soul to read and celebrate with. The world needs to hear and read a lot of Good News more than ever. "Lipad! Mga Kwento Ng Pag-asa Mula Sa Pilipinas" (Fly! Stories Of Hope From The Philippines) aims to bring to the fore 13 stories of hope from my experiences and those of my friends' to a world that needs to know of it so direly. It also aims to inspire readers to positively respond to those suffering from mental afflictions out of a true desire to understand their predicament and be a support towards their healing. After all, the illness of one affects the entirety of society. The healing of one, then, leads to the healing of all.

Depression sets in at the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic after a Youth--Carlo--discovers a painful secret in the family. Amidst the darkness, he finds solace in a Carmelite French nun born 150 years ago and regarded as one of the most beloved saints of modern times. He pleads with the Saint for a miracle. Will he receive the answer to his prayers?

"First love never dies" even though it ended abruptly--painfully. But is this really true?

Missing In Action (MIA). That was how Mr. Velasco's father turned out to be. It left him growing up nurturing a longing for a father that took him years to overcome. Or so he thought. Everything changed in a single day when all the pain surfaced at an unexpected turn of events. Is life really that cruel?

An impoverished Youth (Mar) from one of the poorest of the poor towns in the Philippines discovers his desire to live for the service of others. It is the outcome of a long journey of overcoming the obstacles of his poverty through the fulfillment of his dreams aided by Divine Providence.

Abbie finally got the courage to unpack the brown paper bag. It was full of photos and memorabilia of her broken marriage. It took her 15 years before she could do that. Doing so brought her to a whirlwind of emotions about the suffering she's been through. Was she actually healed? Or did she only open "Pandora's Box"?

Rod didn't know that the voices he hears at night would become stronger when he started serving in Church--driving him to take his own life. Will the voices succeed? Or will he be strong enough to overcome them?

Yna only had one dream: to be married and have a loving family of her own. She thought she will soon realize her dream until Mik, her long-time boyfriend who promised to marry her, broke up with her from out of the blue. Will she ever fulfill her dream?