Asian American Heritage

    As an Asian American, I have always been fascinated with literature written by Asian American authors. I grew up enjoying the works of Amy Tan, Chen Chen, and Rupi Kaur, among others; exposing myself to these authors’ work not only gave me the opportunity to read stories through an Asian perspective, but also allowed me to explore my own cultural identity. In essence, literature has become a way for me to bridge the disconnect I felt between the two cultures I share.

    When selecting a book to read for the book club, I was drawn to The Leavers, by Lisa Ko. A novel that follows the story of Deming, an American born Chinese boy that was adopted by white parents after his mother left. One of the main themes of this story is Deming’s struggle of finding acceptance in a homogenous environment; living with white parents and attending a predominantly white school placed Deming in a cultural limbo. The environment created by Deming’s adoptive parents not only left him unaccepted, but also made him feel uncomfortable with being around Asian people. 

    The setting of The Leavers is sometime in the nineties, a time period where Asian Americans were rarely portrayed in the media. Even though Asian representation has been on the rise, I still find solidarity with Deming’s story. My parents grew up and immigrated to America from Northwest China, a place surrounded by the Gobi Desert and mountainous terrain. Growing up, I struggled with accepting certain Chinese food despite liking their taste. In school, while my friends ate salads, burgers, and fries, I sat there with a container of stir fried noodles and rice. At some point in elementary school, I remember the guilt of throwing away my lunch because I believed my mother’s home cooked meals were too Asian for my “Americanized” palate. 

   Later, I moved to Troy in elementary school, a community teeming with diversity. Today, food no longer holds the negative implications I once assigned it. Similar to Deming’s relationship with music, food has become a vessel for me to showcase the two cultures mixing within me. All in all, I’m glad I chose to read The Leavers. Afterall, it’s hard to be proud of a culture, if you know little about it.