At Last She Stood: Chapters 1–5

by Erin Entrada Kelly
Josefina "Joey" Guerrero of the Philippines, diagnosed with leprosy (Hansen’s disease) as WWII unfolded, was awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom at age 31 for her courageous and lifesaving work as a WWII spy supporting the Allied forces.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–15, Chapters 16–25, Chapters 26–33, Chapters 34–42
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. debilitating
    impairing strength and vitality
    We know she walked through a dangerous jungle with a secret map strapped to her back, even as she suffered the debilitating effects of Hansen’s disease.
  2. quarantine
    enforced isolation of patients suffering contagious disease
    When she died in 1996, her friends weren’t even aware that this diminutive Filipino woman had walked through war zones, carried secret messages for the Allied Forces, or spent much of her time in forced quarantine.
  3. verdant
    characterized by abundance of vegetation and green foliage
    On August 5, 1917, when this little girl is born, Lucban is a sparsely populated municipality with a verdant countryside, rolling waterfalls, and a historic church that has been rebuilt on the same site three times: first in 1629, then in 1733, and again in 1738.
  4. mystical
    beyond ordinary understanding
    Lucban sits in the foothills of Mount Banahaw, a three-peaked volcano that many consider mystical.
  5. diverse
    many and different
    The people of the Philippines practiced diverse religions at the time. Some of them worshipped nature spirits, gods of particular localities, their own ancestors, and female shamans who spoke with departed spirits and delivered prayers in song.
  6. dominate
    be in control
    American culture quickly dominated Philippine life. In the first years of colonization, English became the only language approved for use in school, work, or public buildings.
  7. facade
    the front of a building
    There are centuries-old churches alongside bright, modern facades. Many consider Manila the “Pearl of the Orient” because of its beauty, commerce, and architecture.
  8. devout
    deeply religious
    Joey is a deeply devout Catholic, so she views her suffering through the lens of her faith. She believes, down to her aching bones, that God won’t give her anything she can’t handle.
  9. eliminate
    do away with
    To eliminate “racial enemies,” the Nazis killed approximately six million Jews and imprisoned even more. This is known as the Holocaust.
  10. hierarchy
    organization of different ranks in an administrative body
    The political ideology practiced by the Axis powers is known as fascism—a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, militarism, and a belief in natural social hierarchies, such as “master races.”
  11. oppressive
    marked by unjust severity or arbitrary behavior
    Fascist governments often engage in oppressive practices, such as fraudulent elections, censorship and book bans, control of mass media, human rights violations, and the imprisonment or execution of political dissidents.
  12. propaganda
    information that is spread to promote some cause
    “I don’t know anything about propaganda work,” Tomishige says. “It is all up to you.”
  13. liberal
    having political views favoring reform and progress
    Some members of the Propaganda Corps were enlisted as punishment for their liberal political ideas.
  14. proponent
    a person who argues for a cause or puts forward an idea
    He was a staunch proponent of academic freedom and highly critical of Nazi Germany and Japanese militarism.
  15. rampant
    occurring or increasing in an unrestrained way
    Propaganda has been used throughout history by numerous governments, including the United States. Propaganda in the US was particularly rampant in the 1950s following World War II.
Created on Sat Feb 28 19:46:05 EST 2026 (updated Tue Apr 14 12:05:35 EDT 2026)

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