I was born and raised on Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. As the son of two Filipino guest workers who came to the CNMI during the 1980s, I grew up witnessing both the extraordinary contributions of foreign workers and the injustices embedded within the system that governed their lives. After years of research and reflection, I wrote Shadows in Paradise to uncover this largely forgotten chapter of American history and preserve the stories of the people whose labor helped build the modern CNMI. This book was written out of a deep love for my home islands—and my belief that we cannot build a more just future without first confronting our history honestly.