Julia Lee is angry. And she has questions. What does it mean to be Asian in America? What does it look like to be an ally or an accomplice? How can we shatter the structures of white supremacy that fuel racial stratification?
Throughout the memoir, Lee cites works by Black and Latinx critical race theorists, diasporic literary scholars, Indigenous activists and writers of color, as well as the urgent inquiries raised by the undergraduates she now teaches. I love that a memoir about Asian American identity formation does not rely only on the authority of Asian American thinkers and critics ... It is a beautiful incantation for the ongoing project of Asian American identity, a matter of infinite becoming, ever in transformation.
Brimful with stories about being mocked for one’s heritage ... Confronted with such racist stereotypes, there are usually three answering moods: rage, despair, or humor. Lee channels all three: Her prose is, by turns, incendiary, scabrously funny, and melancholic, without ever stooping to self-pity.
Seamlessly blends her own experiences with piercing discussions of identity and racial stratification, serving up conclusions likely to challenge readers across the ideological spectrum ... An exceptional account of an evolving understanding of power and privilege, offering readers insightful new ways to examine their world.
