[Hot Off the Press] Retrieving the Past

New Release from the Ateneo Press showcases Philippine social history and activism through a personal lens 

A new release from the Ateneo Press Retrieving the Past by Joel Rocamora provides readers with an intimate look into the challenges and complexities of activism during and after martial law. 

While his first book, “Impossible is Not Easy” is a collection of political writings, this companion piece centers more on the man behind the political causes he fights for. Rocamora refers to his book not as a memoir but as a book of his memories. He traces the roots of his life and where they have led. He goes back and forth between the past and the present—touching upon his humble upbringing in Larena, Siquijor, his years abroad, his time as a party member of the Communist Party of the Philippines, his jail time in Camp Crame, his political exile due to the Marcos dictatorship, and his ongoing struggle for peace, democracy, and participatory governance. This book is a mosaic of memories, not chronological but colorful nonetheless. 

In his Preface, Rocamora explains that he wrote this book as a way to speak about bigger issues in society—“Philippine social history, using my life as illustration.” Retrieving the Past is a reminder that we are just as part of history as history is a part of us. It transforms us and so we can also transform it. Change can take decades but so does reflection, time continues and so do we. 

About the Author

Joel Rocamora is a refugee from academia with a PhD in politics from Cornell University. He has worked for progressive causes in civil society organizations such as the Institute for Popular Democracy. He had a short stint in government as Secretary of the National Anti-Poverty Commission.

Retrieving the Past is published by the Ateneo de Manila University Press under the Bughaw imprint. The book is available at the Ateneo University Press Bookshop in Bellarmine Hall, and the Press’s official Lazada and Shopee stores.

Get your copy in paperback: website │ Lazada | Shopee