Lieu's memoir explores her life before and after the death of her admirable mother, a brave and strong refugee woman (from Vietnam) who died due to complications of a tummy tuck. Woven throughout are Lieu's own issues with body image, exacerbated by the blunt and harsh comments of many of her immediate and extended family members. She also attempts to explore her mother's life and her family's grief alongside her family, however (at least partially due to culture), her family is not emotive and do not want to discuss the tragic nature of her mother's death. She begins working in theater and it becomes a means for here to explore her family's nail business, the anger at her mother's doctor, body image, and grief, as well as a way to publicly celebrate her mother. The memoir covers the bulk of Lieu's life but she does gloss over some events that do not include her mother (I wanted more emphasis on how she met and came to marry her husband, for example.) At times, Lieu's writing comes off as a bit amateurish - such as her penchant for exclamation marks, and her attempt to end the memoir on what felt like false positivity, as opposed to the reality which seemed to entail closure but difficult family dynamics. Still, I think those who enjoy memoirs that explore grief and/or the experiences of first generation Americans will enjoy this debut.