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The manicurist's daughter : a memoir / Susan Lieu.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Lieu, Susan, author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Lieu, Susan.
- Lieu, Susan--Family.
- Vietnamese Americans--California--Biography.
- Vietnamese Americans.
- Children of immigrants--United States--Biography.
- Children of immigrants.
- Mother and child.
- Surgery, Plastic--Complications.
- Surgery, Plastic.
- Bereavement.
- mourning.
- Families.
- California.
- United States.
- Genre:
- Autobiographies.
- autobiographies (literary works)
- Biographies.
- Physical Description:
- viii, 305 pages : color illustrations ; 25 cm
- Edition:
- First edition.
- Place of Publication:
- New York : Celadon Books, 2024.
- Summary:
- "An emotionally raw memoir about the crumbling of the American Dream and a daughter of refugees who searches for answers after her mother dies during plastic surgery. Susan Lieu has long been searching for answers. About her family's past and about her own future. Refugees from the Vietnam War, Susan's family escaped to California in the 1980s after five failed attempts. Upon arrival, Susan's mother was their savvy, charismatic North Star, setting up two successful nail salons and orchestrating every success-until Susan was eleven. That year, her mother died from a botched tummy tuck. After the funeral, no one was ever allowed to talk about her or what happened. For the next twenty years, Susan navigated a series of cascading questions alone-why did the most perfect person in her life want to change her body? Why would no one tell her about her mother's life in Vietnam? And how did this surgeon, who preyed on Vietnamese immigrants, go on operating after her mother's death? Sifting through depositions, tracking down the surgeon's family, and enlisting the help of spirit channelers, Susan uncovers the painful truth of her mother, herself, and the impossible ideal of beauty. The Manicurist's Daughter is much more than a memoir about grief, trauma, and body image. It is a story of fierce determination, strength in shared culture, and finding your place in the world"-- Provided by publisher.
- Local Notes:
- Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Rosengarten Family Fund.
- ISBN:
- 9781250835048
- 1250835046
- OCLC:
- 1415801058
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