Heartbreaking. Bittersweet. Painful. This chapters-long letter of a book addressing a mother that she can no longer reach--despite the mother being alive--because of so many reasons...utterly full of regret and aching and pleas. This book honestly broke me.

Read this earlier this year based on a rec from a friend. Heartbreaking, painful to read at times, but the author's journalistic personal inquiry into complex trauma was enlightening and interesting.

Borrowed from a friend, I read this #Hmong book last week. Though not titled a memoir, it essentially is one, chronicling his young years w/ family escaping & then growing up in Minnesota. Then, desperate to achieve his dreams, he makes mistakes and ends up in state & federal prison.

Ly navigates life while helping her parents make a life in the '90s in Queens. With worsening eyesight & no support, it leads to other issues...

I had some questions, but overall, resonated with me: the shattering self-image, the anxiety from parents' expectations while understanding their trauma.

Putsata Reang was born in Cambodia & raised in rural Oregon. I have an affinity for writers from rural places. This book resonated: growing up in white spaces, a particular protectiveness over mom, & having one's partner rejected by parents. Also, I learned more about Cambodian refugees' history.

Kao Kalia Yang's memoirs. One of the first Hmong writers I read in college, she writes emotional & beautiful memoirs. Haven't read the last two in a while, but "Where Rivers Part" was heartbreaking. I had forgotten some things about the Hmong experience; this reminded me of stories from my parents.