I met Rudy Francisco back when we were both college kids, at a Southern Rap Conference in CA. We were both performing spoken word, and I was mesmerized by his vulnerability and courage. I remember recording his words on my old school digital camera, and replaying it over and over again for months (back before Read More…
I met Rose McGowan when I was an undergrad at UCI, and she came to speak about sexual assault. I was in awe of her courageous spirit back then, and I’m even more blown away by her fearlessness now. Thank you Rose, for sharing your story in “Brave,” and being a voice for those of Read More…
Min Jin Lee’s “Pachinko” was absolutely amazing, heart wrenching, gripping, and powerful. The four generations of stories are told with such feeling and meticulous detail, it’s as if you’re right alongside Sunja, Hansu, Isak, etc. I had already known many things about the history between Japan and Korea, but Min Jin Lee brings to light Read More…
I stumbled upon Anna Akana’s So Much I Want to Tell You several months ago, and was immediately hooked. That led me to reading all of her books, subscribing to her YouTube channel, and just having a ton of admiration and respect for her raw honesty and fearlessness. Anna’s sister committed suicide when she was Read More…
I taught Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian to eighth grade students several years ago, and was lucky to see him speak that same year. I just finished reading his memoir You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me (“you” referring to his mother), and truly appreciated his raw honesty. The Read More…
Wow. I felt like I was reading this novel a little too slowly at first, but realized I was just poring over each extremely detailed and picturesque word that consumed me into the world of those living in Shaker Heights. Celeste Ng is a pro at writing with such intensity and depth, it was difficult Read More…
Teaching has always been something that I’ve wanted to do since I was a little girl. I’d spend hours on my beat up chalkboard in the garage (the chalk was so dirty that we didn’t want it to cause a mess inside), teaching my stuffed animals the basics in reading and writing. I’d write my Read More…
Although Betty Friedan wrote about “the problem that has no name” over 50 years ago, this unidentified issue still remains rampant today. Women may have used tranquilizers prescribed by doctors to forget about their loss of self in the past, but is that any different from the antidepressants garnered after filling out rigid surveys pertaining Read More…
I can’t even remember which book I read first from Joyce Wan, but I do know that I’ve (I mean my son) read all of her cute books, and immediately fell in love with her characters and illustrations. It was true love at first sight. Luckily, I was able to meet her in person at Read More…
It took writer and director Liz Garcia over a decade to see her film, One Percent More Humid, come to fruition and appear at the Tribeca Film Festival, which I was fortunate enough to see last week (as well as the cast members!) The film explores the friendship amongst Iris and Catherine, who turn to Read More…