My Life Growing Up Asian In America by CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment)
(Format used for this book: Print–hardback)
A collection of 30 heartfelt, witty, and hopeful thought pieces on the experience of growing up Asian American, for fans of Minor Feelings.
There are 23 million people, representing more than 20 countries, each with unique languages, histories, and cultures, clumped under one banner: Asian American. Though their experiences are individual, certain commonalities appear.
- The pressure to perform and the weight of the model minority myth.
- The proximity to whiteness (for many) and the resulting privileges.
- The desexualizing, exoticizing, and fetishizing of their bodies.
- The microaggressions.
- The erasure and overt racism.
Through a series of essays and poems, thirty creators give voice to moments that defined them and shed light on the immense diversity and complexity of the Asian American identity. Edited by CAPE and with an introduction by renowned journalist SuChin Pak, My Life: Growing Up Asian in America is a celebration of community, a call to action, and a road map for a brighter future.
Featuring contributions from best-selling authors Melissa de la Cruz, Marie Lu, and Tanaïs; journalists Amna Nawaz, Edmund Lee, and Aisha Sultan; TV and film writers Teresa Hsiao, Heather Jeng Bladt, and Nathan Ramos-Park; and industry leaders Ellen K. Pao and Aneesh Raman, among many more.
I picked this book up from the library and am so grateful to have read this.
It is full of essays, graphic art, and poetry that tells the personal stories of so many people….their struggles, their successes, their sadness, their happiness, their family experience, their journey.
Even though all the contributors have different backgrounds and their experiences are unique to their own lives, the common denominator of the label given to them all of Asian American brings some very similar hardships, stereotypes, and difficulties.
All of the authors and artists shared thought provoking, insightful, heartfelt, and sometimes painstaking honest moments that really shed light on the experience of being Asian in this country as a child, adolescent and adult.
I think it is SO VERY IMPORTANT to listen to MANY people’s perspectives on life in this country, ESPECIALLY those who have been oppressed, stereotyped and mistreated.
We have to listen when people tell their truths and lived experiences…it is how we do better by each other and make impactful changes to benefit ALL.
As a white female American, I know I must take off my blinders and really SEE what life is like here for people of ALL backgrounds and not just those that look like me.
We must all hear other people’s stories and voices. BELIEVE people when they share their experiences. LISTEN when they tell us how to do better.
And when we know better, we MUST do better. Because lives are LITERALLY being lost and affected EVERY DAMN DAY.
This book was written in 2021 after the horrific anti- Asian shootings in Atlanta and the rise of hate crimes against Asian Americans during the COVID pandemic.
In the introduction to the book, renowned journalist SuChin Pak shares this:
“Today, I find the most courage in the spaces where we tell our stories. For so long, I was scared to talk about my experiences, but I have found so much healing in this sharing and in hearing about others’ journeys. When I’ve gotten lost in the crush of sadness scrolling through images of violence against our women and elders, when I’ve had to tell my daughter that today terrible things have happened and I’m too sad to get out of bed, the words of our community have given me hope and strength. My Life: Growing Up Asian in America brings together thirty of those voices—novelists, poets, journalists, activists, illustrators, and thought leaders–to reflect on what it was like to come of age in the United States. The experience of being seen as less American. The truth behind the model minority myth and our proximity to whiteness. The pain that comes from always being minimized and erased. The wisdom and shortcomings of our elders. How we internalize being mocked, laughed at, dismissed. The beauty in finding friends and partners who see us as we are. They write about so many things that I wish I had known, and I am forever grateful to have their stories as part of a new understanding of self and community.
As I read their words, I have to stop a lot. I have to take deep breaths, let myself sit and feel things that I have practiced so hard to numb. I feel seen in a way that is both validating and, at times, very overwhelming. For all those years, I carried the anxiety and trepidation alone. So many of us have had to navigate the world on our own without the connection that is here on these pages. And now, here we are, holding this burden together, which makes it feel lighter…and makes me feel stronger.”
We need more books like this for all the reasons she shared above….and for a million reasons more.
Read this book, yall.