After his father's sudden death while on vacation in the Philippines, Jim Agapito rushed to his funeral. But when he arrived from Canada, he was thrown into an unfamiliar world where his sombre understanding of mourning was replaced by superstition and festivities.

After the death of his beloved aunt and uncle, Jim Agapito stopped caring about Christmas. As he struggled with his loss, he also tried to understand why his Filipino community celebrated the season as early as September.

Did Jim Agapito make his lola proud? The Filipino-Canadian is on a recovery mission to learn about his Filipino roots and culture in his new CBC podcast and radio series Recovering Filipino.