This memoir is a lot to unpack (in a good way)! Susan Lieu focuses on the death of her mother from complications caused by cosmetic surgery when Susan, the youngest child was only eleven. As she gets older, she wants to know more about what happened to her mother but finds her family to be tight-lipped as they accuse Susan of stirring up unnecessary pain and encourage her to drop her inquiries. But Susan persists into adulthood, her marriage and becoming a mother herself while she creatively turns her mother’s story into a solo drama performance with the added benefit of processing her own grief and helping her family with theirs.
This book addresses so many themes that I will probably accidentally leave out some important pieces. I learned so many things about the Vietnamese culture! Susan was born in the USA after the rest of her family immigrated to find a better life. Her mother was ambitious and was successful in opening two nail salons in Northern California. The cultural aspect of body image and thinness played a big part in the surgeon’s preying on vulnerable Vietnamese women. Until Susan firmly rebuked her family’s fat-shaming, she also fell victim to this to a lesser degree. The family dynamics were also very interesting in regards to roles and dealing with the mother’s death. I found the concept of channeling and speaking to the deceased as well as the death rituals fascinating. And Susan’s persistence in investigating the surgeon and traveling to Vietnam to put the story together and then bringing everything together with her creative endeavors was inspiring!
This book addresses so many themes that I will probably accidentally leave out some important pieces. I learned so many things about the Vietnamese culture! Susan was born in the USA after the rest of her family immigrated to find a better life. Her mother was ambitious and was successful in opening two nail salons in Northern California. The cultural aspect of body image and thinness played a big part in the surgeon’s preying on vulnerable Vietnamese women. Until Susan firmly rebuked her family’s fat-shaming, she also fell victim to this to a lesser degree. The family dynamics were also very interesting in regards to roles and dealing with the mother’s death. I found the concept of channeling and speaking to the deceased as well as the death rituals fascinating. And Susan’s persistence in investigating the surgeon and traveling to Vietnam to put the story together and then bringing everything together with her creative endeavors was inspiring!