A Thousand Little Deaths

A Thousand Little Deaths is a moving and historically important memoir of a young girl's experience as one of the many thousands in the Philippines sent to prison by the repressive Marcos regime in the 1970s. Though she went on to live a normal life after she was released, author Vicky Pinpin-Feinstein had always felt that something was amiss. It took an illness in later life to pave the way for her to understand what truly happened and to make sense of what it meant to survive, not only for herself, but also for many other Filipinos trapped in a vicious cycle of violence and tyranny.

On an otherwise normal morning at a private school for girls, a 15-year-old student is picked up by soldiers and sent to a military camp, becoming one of the thousands of political prisoners arrested under Ferdinand Marcos' repressive regime in the 1970s. A year earlier, Marcos had declared martial law and a military government effectively took over the Philippines. After her release, author Vicky Pinpin-Feinstein was required to report to camp, her probation lasting five years. She was never charged and was never told why she was arrested. The effects of prison and the long-term probation makes Vicky’s story an authentic representation of the pernicious effects of dictatorship and tyranny, effects that pervaded a life for decades to come. This is a historically vital memoir, not only moving in its rendition of what life was like for a young innocent girl, but also for its incisive analysis of the political forces that wrecked democratic ideals in a country where politics and violence have always worked together for the benefit of the few.

Born in the Philippines, Vicky Pinpin-Feinstein first came to the United States when she was awarded a research fellowship and joined an international research team working on a study of television and gender roles at the East-West Center. A full scholarship allowed her to complete graduate degrees in Communication and Political Science. She has worked for institutions such as the Smithsonian and public television, focusing on research and policy impact of media and society. She also consults with international organizations on the applications of communications technologies in international development. She lives in the Washington DC area with her husband and two children.