Aida Morden's

Shadows of the Living Mountain.

Tales of loss, of family, of the fears that drive us mad and far from home and the love that binds one generation to the next are the beautifully evocative journeys. Aida Morden takes us on in
Shadows of the Living Mountain.

Order now

Book Summary

This debut collection of stories from Aida Morden explores the complex..

relationships of family, personal identity, and the heritage of this diverse group of Filipinos.

These characters may share common origins in the Philippines, but the stories of this varied cast finds them settled far and wide from Australia to North America to Europe and beyond. 


This collection begins with “Daughters of the Living Mountain,” a story of yearning, regret, and unspoken love between two sisters living in the shadow of Mt Mayon.

“Tales of the Sunken Town” transports readers back to the 18th century..

when the Taal Volcano erupted causing the sinking of the town of Tanauan. In the present day, Leon Ilagan searches for records of his Filipino family’s clan and uncovers a dark secret surrounding the annihilation of his ancestors.


In the tale “Born in Fire,” through stories told by his grandfather, Carl David learns about the elder man’s migration to Australia and the love he lost, in his native land, under the shadow of Mt Hibok-Hibok.

Canadian Julia Watson learns that she is not who she thought she was..

in the short story “Blacklist.” A deathbed confession from the woman who raised her reveals the true story of Julia’s origins under the shadow of Mt. Apo during the Philippine Martial Law era in the 1970s. 

As Julia comes to learn more about her birth parents, she must choose between the country she grew up in and her ancestral home.

About The Author

Aida Morden and her th ree children, Rojie Antonio, Silahis Malaya and Remnim Alexander, migrated to Australia from the Philippines in 1987.

She is married to Keith, her Aussie mate of more than three decades. Aida’s field of expertise is tenancy and she has a PhD from the Faculty of the Built Environment, University of New South Wales. Her thesis titled 'Landlord-Tenant Communicative Interaction: The Influence of Litigation in Public Housing' is published on-line. 


Aida is a human rights activist. An activist for most of her life, her eldest son, Rojie Antonio was born whilst she was on house arrest during the Philippine Martial Law years.

Shadows of the Living Mountain is Aida Morden’s debut work of fiction. This collection explores the complexity of family, personal identity, and the heritage of a diverse group of Filipinos.

What's In It?

The Excerpt

Away from the shadow of the living mountain, my fading memory remembers mostly her beauty and grace, and the remaining pride in my diasporic existence is that I once lived beside the living mountain. — ‘Daughters of the Living Mountain’

The one revelation that had the most impact in her developing choices and decisions was a disco- very that a class divide existed among the people around her and she, by a stroke of luck belonged to the blessed and the fortunate. — ‘Tales of the Sunken Town’

There are more mountains than books in the land where my grandfather was born. — ‘Born of Fire’

Away from the safety of his nest and from our protective wings, he has spread his own in a totally strange sky known for its absence of humanity. — ‘Twin Falls and a Mountain’

I wept a dry tear for the times that the hand that shielded me from little girl’s fright and hurt was not her hand; the lullaby that put me to restive sleep was not her voice and the stories I know were not read by her.I cried different shades of tears. My mother only cried one shade. — ‘Shades of Tears’

The nature of this country is its constant battle with nature. Eruptions. Your country was created by volcanoes, and it will be destroyed by volcanoes. Typhoons. This is the only country that is lashed by typhoons more than the number of letters in your alphabet a year. And the population grows at the speed of light. On top of it all is the unending war between the people. No wonder people like us are leaving. — ‘Blacklist’

The Characters

Away from the shadow of the living mountain, my fading memory remembers mostly her beauty and grace, and the remaining pride in my diasporic existence is that I once lived beside the living mountain. — ‘Daughters of the Living Mountain’

The one revelation that had the most impact in her developing choices and decisions was a disco- very that a class divide existed among the people around her and she, by a stroke of luck belonged to the blessed and the fortunate. — ‘Tales of the Sunken Town’

There are more mountains than books in the land where my grandfather was born. — ‘Born of Fire’

Away from the safety of his nest and from our protective wings, he has spread his own in a totally strange sky known for its absence of humanity. — ‘Twin Falls and a Mountain’

I wept a dry tear for the times that the hand that shielded me from little girl’s fright and hurt was not her hand; the lullaby that put me to restive sleep was not her voice and the stories I know were not read by her.I cried different shades of tears. My mother only cried one shade. — ‘Shades of Tears’

The nature of this country is its constant battle with nature. Eruptions. Your country was created by volcanoes, and it will be destroyed by volcanoes. Typhoons. This is the only country that is lashed by typhoons more than the number of letters in your alphabet a year. And the population grows at the speed of light. On top of it all is the unending war between the people. No wonder people like us are leaving. — ‘Blacklist’

Frequently Asked Questions

What inspires you to write?

My longing for the place where I grew up. My desire to leave my children and grandchildren something to read about me.

Is this book your debut work of fiction?

This is my second work of fiction.

Are your stories based on real life experiences?

The stories are real life stories told as fiction.

Are the legends in the stories your own or copied / based from existence legends?

One legend was derived from a book of legends, the rest are my own stories.

What is your favorite book?

I have so many favourite books. Two books that I reread a few times are Viet Thanh Nguyen's 'The Sympathizer' and Pascal Khoo Thwe's 'From The Land of Green Ghosts.' I am drawn to their writing style. Toni Morrison's 'Beloved' and all Amy Tan's books. I also love the books written by Australian authors Helen Garner and Tim Winton. English author, Ken Follett amazes me with his lengthy novels. Politically, Barack Obama's 'The Audacity of Hope' is my favourite.

Your professional career and background are far from writing. What made you write a work of fiction?

 I love to imagine things away from reality. There is boundless freedom in fiction writing.

Will you be writing more books? If so, what is the title of your next book?

I am beginning another series of short stories titled, Very Ordinary Stories.

How many hours a day do you write?

I don't set a time per day. When inspired, I sit in front of my computer for half a day. Most times, less than an hour. I work under pressure. So I set a deadline and then forced myself to write.

What is your advice to aspiring authors?

 It will be presumptuous on my part to give advice to other authors since I am also a beginner writer of fiction. However, the basic thing perhaps that all writers/authors do is reading, reading and reading.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

Accordion Body

Testimonials

Michael Mirolla

Award-winning author of Berlin, The Last News Vendor and Lessons in Relationship Dyads

"In Aida Morden's Shadows of the Living Mountain, the volcanoes don't just erupt with lava, ash, mud, boiling water and massive rocks. They also send her stories and characters into the world. Destruction and creation go hand in hand.

Families come together, often through lies and deception; families fall apart, often through the arrival of the truth. Like material from the Philippine Pacific Ring of Fire volcanoes, people are flung out to distant lands—Australia, Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Middle East, Europe—a diaspora that leads to longing, regrets, nostalgia and the ever-present search for an elusive sense of belonging: political, social, personal. These are stories that cut through the heart to reveal the soul.

These are stories that don't waste their time on trivialities. Detailed, toughly sketched, unafraid of what they might uncover, these are stories that make us taste the magic of the universal while at the same time chewing on life's ashes."

Agatha Whitechapel

Editor

“Where I was born was not the place where I grew up.” Aida Morden’s brilliant debut collection of six short stories about families living at the foot of volcanoes. Half fable, half gritty portrait of 60 years of Filo life, both under martial law and away from the island.

Glimpses of Rita and her overbearing ice queen sister in Daughters of the Living Mountain, the epic family saga of the seven sons and one daughter, and their ghosts in Tales of the Sunken Town. These stories run like secret rivers through a land held to the whims of a despotic volcanic presence. In Born of Fire, life as a metaphor is how Grandpa raises the son who is not his son. “While everybody collected butterflies … I collected ailments,” Silay moans in Shades of Tears, where we find out what is really in a name.

Tales of loss, of family, of the fears that drive us mad and far from home and the love that binds one generation to the next are the beautifully evocative journeys Aida Morden takes us on in Shadows of the Living Mountain.

MWeisskirschner

Wonderfully Engaging

“ I found the stories in this book full of intrigue and the journey through them winding and full of storytelling power, sometimes funny and sometimes sad but always captivating. I loved it."

Apple and Cake

Apple and Cake

Interesting And Imaginative

“A memoir traversing intersections of truths — created and otherwise. An examination of a life lived in colour in a language that is all the author’s own.“

from Online Book Club

The end direction the story took was surprising

"Tales of the sunken town" was hard to grapple with at first, but it was worth reading. My favorite story was "born of fire". The end direction the story took was surprising. So, I went back and reread the story a few times to savor every detail hidden on the pages. "The tale of the Two Phoenixes" was filled with so much hidden information. "This ritual was their first and maybe not the last that they would witness in the crater, for in the land born of fire, white stones are still forced to hide." -this was my most favorite quote from the book as it speaks volumes in just a few words. Milagros's character was the one that shocked me most because I had not expected her homophobia. I also learned many things like 1754's Great Eruption of the Philippines, mirror-touch synesthesia, congenital insensitivity to pain, the efforts of the LAKAS in the time of a natural disaster, mail order bride system, etc. Wow! I never knew I could learn history like this! The skill of combining real details about the Philippines in hauntingly beautiful stories was amazing.

PAPERBACK OR KINDLE EDITION

“Twin Falls and a Mountain” is a psychological story of Arlene..

A mother struggling with an undiagnosed bipolar disorder under the shadow of Mt. Kanlaon. As the parent of twin boys, each with a rare health condition,
Arlene falls into a delusional fantasy in order to cope. But it will be a tragic event that sends her life reeling.

Order now

AMAZON

Order now

This collection concludes with “Shades of Tears”..


A quasi-autobiographical story that recounts conversations about the deeper significance held by names. Told under the shadow of Mt. Asog, this is a tale of the troubled relationship between a mother and daughter and a young woman’s yearning for parental love and support.

Order now

Sing Up For Our Newsletter

Our Policy

Terms & Conditions

Privacy