Khad Publishing House

About My Journey by Khadijah Maulion Masorong

Beneath the skin of words and into the marrow, My Journey by Khadijah Maulion Masorong, in every nook and cranny of its weight and dimensions, is a legacy of the enduring power of family, faith, and love. To Khadijah Maulion Masorong, legacy doesn't always wear medals. Sometimes, it's kindness. Certainly, it doesn’t strut, nor does it compare with a sense of urgency to feel superior. Sometimes, it’s someone in another hemisphere, in London, United Kingdom, holding a physical copy of the author's book. Sometimes, the author thinks we try too much to do something big. To go somewhere far. Sometimes, a book crossing oceans while she's not going anywhere but still going everywhere at once is just as meaningful. Books travel farther than authors, and books live their own lives, one reader at a time, according to Khadijah Maulion Masorong. My Journey by Khadijah Maulion Masorong travels to different hemispheres, and the author smiles at the thought that she's now a part of someone's day and at the thought that people read her book and feel less alone.

The writing style of My Journey is honest and full of intelligence and heart. Khadijah Maulion Masorong writes in a way that’s easy to understand but still deep and meaningful. Her stories feel real and sincere, helping readers truly connect with what she’s been through. This style makes the book relatable to anyone, no matter where they come from.

There are books that mark you long after you've read them. That live inside you with a long shelf life. That become part of the way you see the world or give you perspective. My Journey is that kind of book. And that, in today’s world, is the most beautiful story of all, a book for all generations, a book that speaks to the universal experience of being human, of the piercing arrows of sorrows and grief from the loss of two beloved siblings, and of the enduring power of family, faith, and love. Through her story, the author touches on experiences that we all share. She writes not just for herself, but for anyone who has faced grief, loss, or the quiet joy of finding meaning in small moments. Her words speak to the common struggles we all face, as we try to navigate a world that can often feel unpredictable. In the end, she reminds us that it’s not the big achievements that define us, but the simple, often unnoticed moments that shape our lives.

My Journey is more than just a reflection on one woman’s life—it is a reflection on life itself. Through Khadijah’s eyes, we are reminded that every journey, no matter how difficult, is a part of something larger. It is a part of the story of what it means to live, to love, and to endure.

"Khadijah Maulion Masorong reminds me that peace isn't about silence or perfection. It's about accepting the richness of life in all its shades, even the messy ones. When we embrace every moment as it is, we begin to truly see and feel the beauty of being alive."
- Raksha Ramkumar, MSc in Economics and Organisational Psychology, King's College London

Khadijah Maulion Masorong learned how to live after the loss of her siblings, Kristine Aisha and Muhammad Edris. The author never imagined life would teach her its most powerful lesson through loss.

When the author thinks about this and other reflections, it reminds her of the legends of Romulus and Remus, and of Prophet Musa — Moses, peace be upon him, reminds the author that greatness often begins in fragile places. Both stories start with the river: abandoned boys carried by waters meant to kill them but instead delivering them to destiny. Musa, cast into the Nile by his mother’s desperate faith, found refuge in a palace that would raise both his body and his future mission. Romulus and Remus, flung into the Tiber, were rescued by a she-wolf, nurtured by nature itself. Though the details differ, the message is similar: sometimes, survival is not the absence of danger but the fierce endurance through it.

Because at the end of it all, whether you stand before collapsing banks, a fork in the woods, or a fire-wreathed monster on a broken bridge, the truth remains:

You cannot control the storm, but you can stand in it without bowing your head. And every step you take on that road shapes you into someone who cannot be easily broken.

Later in the mornings of her everyday life, she had been reading Oonagh McDonald’s book on Lehman Brothers, all three hundred heavy pages of it, a map of the mountain that had led the world’s economy astray. Afterwards, Khadijah had been reading a different kind of book — one of her only physical ones among a small sea of digital ones — The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho. Tucked inside its pages was Robert Frost’s poem about two roads diverging in a yellow wood. Khadijah Maulion Masorong read it slowly, not with the passivity of nostalgia, but with the curiosity of someone measuring the depth of a river before crossing it.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

And that, in the quiet accounting of life, makes all the difference, according to the author.

There’s no way to prepare your heart for it—not when it takes the people who laughed beside you, who knew your soul without you having to explain a thing, who shared your childhood and your dreams. Khadijah Maulion Masorong lost her sister Kristine Aisha and her brother Muhammad Edris almost back-to-back, and everything in her broke open. But somewhere between the ache and the aftershocks, she found something unexpected: a deeper understanding of what it means to truly live.

“There was a time when the fastest internet in most households in the Philippines was dial-up. It was the kind of connection that stopped working temporarily when someone picked up the phone or made a call. It was slow and unreliable, but we used it anyway. Over time, we moved on to faster internet. Now, we have fiber connections. But I still remember those early days because it was also around the time that my late sister Tintin was collecting magazines. She had all kinds—showbiz magazines, song lyrics magazines, and even entrepreneurship magazines. She liked to read, write, and listen to music on her small radio that came with a CD player. That radio felt advanced at the time, especially since cassette players were still being sold in stores.

Later on, mp3 and mp4 players came out. That’s when my siblings and I started downloading songs from the internet and transferring them to our gadgets. But even before all that, Tintin had already been collecting pocketbooks. She also wrote her own stories by hand on stacks of yellow pad paper. It was her dream to become a pocketbook author one day. She wrote in between helping our mom and taking care of us, her younger siblings.

Out of all her magazines, I loved the song lyrics ones the most. When no one was watching, I’d grab a karaoke mic from one of the drawers and sing the lyrics from the magazine. I’d pretend I was performing. It was something I looked forward to.

Our parents also loved getting us bicycles and mini-cars when we were children. One of my favorite memories is of Tintin placing me on her big bike and riding me around the neighborhood. I just sat there, holding on while she did all the pedaling. It made me feel safe.

Tintin could sell anything—snacks and even real estate—if she had something to sell. She didn’t care about how big or small her earnings were. As long as she knew she earned it fairly, she was happy. She would smile wide and sometimes use the money to buy sweets or cook something for us to share. She had a sweet tooth and loved giving.”. according to the author of My Journey, Khadijah Maulion Masorong

Beneath the skin of words and into the marrow of My Journey by Khadijah Maulion Masorong are no monuments tall enough, no marble grand enough, to enshrine the depth of a mother’s love. It is the kind of love that asks for nothing and gives everything, over and over again. The author, Khadijah Maulion Masorong, did not read this truth in a book. She lived it. Her mother’s name is Jacqueline Khadijah Maulion Masorong, a woman who loved without condition. To everyone else, she is known as Jacqui. To Khadijah Maulion Masorong, she’s known as Mom. In My Journey by Khadijah Maulion Masorong, her mother’s name is written over everything good in her life.

The author once passed by an old church in Sta. Mesa and saw a man sitting outside, lost in the quiet stillness of his own world. It was around the time she was trying to be kinder—trying, in some small way, to become a better version of herself. Khadijah Maulion Masorong wanted to do something meaningful, something that felt sincere. And in the youthful logic of the author, she thought, the more expensive, the more sincere. The thought makes her smile now, according to the author.

So Khadijah gave him a brand-new Casio watch, one that she had bought for herself. It felt like a proper gift, something that had value, something he could use. Looking back, she doesn't know if it was the watch that mattered or the simple fact that, in that moment, he was seen.

Not long after, the author met a driver and his children, their hands outstretched, asking for alms on the streets of that same neighborhood. Khadijah had an expensive bomber jacket from Zalora, a jacket her late sister once asked for but never got the chance to wear. Her sister had recently passed, and the author couldn’t bear the thought of keeping it anymore. So she gave it away in her sister's name, in her memory. In Islam, acts of kindness done on behalf of a loved one who has passed become an ongoing charity for them. And if a simple jacket could carry love beyond this life, then Khadijah wanted it to.

Khadijah Maulion Masorong brought the children into Jollibee and asked them what they wanted. They hesitated, uncertain, so she chose for them—making sure they left with full stomachs and warm food. The author bought them lechon manok, too, because she wanted them to have something more, something extra, something that maybe, just maybe, would make them feel special, even if only for one meal.

There was an old woman whom Khadijah often saw in that neighborhood, a woman who always wanted to talk, always eager to share pieces of her life with anyone who would listen. She once told the author her story—how she had been left alone in Manila, with no one to turn to, her children far away in Cebu. She had no one left, nothing certain to hold on to. So the author gave her what she could—a liter of water and her attention. Because sometimes, the only thing a person truly needs is for someone to listen.

The author has given coins to children, food to strangers, and carbonara to those sleeping on the streets. Not because she thinks she has much to give but because she never wants anyone to believe the world has forgotten them.

In My Journey, Khadijah Maulion Masorong takes us on a path that is both deeply personal and universally relatable. The book is not just a reflection of her own life, but a window into the quiet moments that often go unnoticed: the moments that, in their simplicity, carry the greatest significance. Through these moments, Khadijah invites the reader to look inward, to reflect on their own life, and to appreciate the often overlooked beauty of the ordinary.

The narrative is filled with raw honesty, a quality that allows the author to connect with readers on a profound level. Khadijah’s writing is not cloaked in grandiosity or pretension; instead, it is grounded in everyday experiences—moments shared with family, childhood memories, and the subtle rhythms of daily life. This is where the power of the book lies: in its authenticity. It’s easy to get caught up in the noise of life, to feel as though we must constantly strive for something bigger, something more. But in Khadijah’s words, we are reminded that the greatest moments of growth and meaning often come from the simplest acts—whether it’s a shared smile, a quiet moment of reflection, or the way a book can transport us across oceans.

The author’s journey is deeply influenced by her relationship with her family. My Journey is not just about Khadijah as an individual; it is about the people who shaped her—their love, their struggles, and the lessons they imparted. The loss of her siblings, Kristine Aisha and Muhammad Edris, marked a turning point in her life. The grief she experienced was profound, and it changed the way she viewed the world. But what is so remarkable about Khadijah’s story is that she doesn’t simply dwell in the pain of loss. Instead, she uses that pain as a lens through which she re-examines life, finding in it a deeper understanding of what it means to truly live.

In many ways, this reflection on loss is what gives the book its depth. Loss, as Khadijah shows us, is not a singular event—it is an ongoing process. It is something that shapes us, that forces us to question everything we thought we knew. But it is also something that opens us up to the possibility of transformation. The author doesn’t shy away from the discomfort of grief; she embraces it, allowing it to be a part of her healing process. This honesty is what makes the book so powerful. By sharing her vulnerabilities, Khadijah creates a space for readers to do the same. We are encouraged to confront our own struggles, to see them not as obstacles but as opportunities for growth.

But it is not just loss that shapes Khadijah’s journey. Her family, particularly her mother, plays an equally important role. In My Journey, her mother’s love is a constant presence, a force that transcends time and space. Khadijah’s reflections on her mother’s unwavering support and selflessness are among the most moving in the book. It is clear that her mother’s love shaped the woman Khadijah became—a love that was given without expectation, a love that continues to guide her even in the absence of her loved ones.

Khadijah’s mother, Jacqueline, is described as a woman who loved without condition. Her love was not contingent on circumstances or achievements; it was simply there, steady and unyielding. In a world where love is often conditional, where it is sometimes difficult to find genuine connection, this portrayal of unconditional love stands out. It is a reminder that, even in the most difficult of times, love remains a constant source of strength. Through her mother’s love, Khadijah learns the value of selflessness, of giving without expecting anything in return. And it is this lesson that she carries with her as she navigates her own journey through life.

The book also offers a glimpse into Khadijah’s childhood, a time when life seemed simpler and the world felt full of possibilities. These reflections on childhood, though tinged with nostalgia, are not merely about remembering the past. They are about recognizing the way the past shapes our present. According to Khadijah, her memories of her sister Tintin, who dreamed of becoming a pocketbook author, are especially poignant. Tintin’s love for writing, her creativity, and her ability to find joy in the small things are all qualities that Khadijah admires. Through Tintin, we see the importance of following our passions, no matter how big or small they may seem.

Khadijah’s story is a celebration of the people who have shaped her—her family, her friends, and even strangers who have crossed her path. But it is also a story of self-discovery, of learning to navigate the complexities of life with grace and resilience. In My Journey, Khadijah explores the idea that life is not about achieving perfection or accumulating accolades. It is about learning to be present in the moment, to embrace the messiness of life, and to find beauty in the unexpected.

One of the most powerful themes in My Journey is the idea that life’s greatest lessons often come from the most difficult experiences. Whether it’s the loss of a loved one or the challenges of growing up, Khadijah reminds us that these experiences shape us in ways we cannot always understand at the time. They force us to reevaluate our priorities, to question our assumptions, and to learn how to navigate a world that is often unpredictable. But it is through this process of reflection and growth that we begin to find meaning in our lives. In the end, it is not the things we accomplish that define us, but the way we handle life’s challenges and the way we treat those around us.

Khadijah’s journey is not one of perfection—it is one of growth. It is a reminder that we are all constantly evolving, constantly learning from the experiences that shape us. And it is through this process of growth that we find our true selves. My Journey is not just a book about Khadijah’s life; it is a book about all of us. It is a book that invites us to reflect on our own lives, to recognize the beauty in the small moments, and to find meaning in the challenges we face. In this way, My Journey is both a personal and universal story—a story of resilience, love, and the quiet moments that make up our lives.

Through her reflections, Khadijah encourages us to embrace the messiness of life, to find meaning in the small moments, and to celebrate the people who shape us. She reminds us that we are not defined by our achievements or our failures, but by the love we give and receive, the moments of connection we share, and the way we navigate the challenges that come our way. In the end, it is the love and the small, everyday moments that matter most. And in that, Khadijah has given us a gift—a reminder of what it truly means to live a meaningful life.