Asian Memoir

For the first time, Kenneth Bae tells the full story surrounding his arrest and imprisonment in North Korea. Not Forgotten is a modern story of intrigue, suspense, and heart. Driven by his passion to help the people of North Korea, Bae moves to neighboring China to lead guided tours into the...

A harrowing dual memoir that braids the story of a Chinese-American woman’s search for identity with the dramatic tale of her great-aunt, who was born at the turn of the century in tradition-bound China and went on to become Vice President of China’s first women’s bank. "In China, a woman...

For readers of Caste, the coming-of-age story of a Dalit individual that illuminates systemic injustice in India and its growing impact on US society “A moving personal story and a useful educational examination of persistent discrimination”—Kirkus Reviews Winner of the Sahitya Akademi...

This powerful memoir about a Hmong family’s epic journey to safety is a profound “testament to the miraculous strength of women and the indomitable resolve of the human spirit” (Cristina Henríquez, author of The Book of Unknown Americans). Born in 1961 in war-torn Laos, Tswb’s childhood...

A poet’s audio obsession, from collecting his earliest vinyl to his quest for the ideal vacuum tubes. A captivating book that “ingeniously mixes personal memoir with cultural history and offers us an indispensable guide for the search of acoustic truth” (Yunte Huang, author of Charlie...

FINALIST FOR THE 2024 HILARY WESTON WRITERS’ TRUST PRIZE FOR NONFICTION Globe and Mail’s Best Books of 2024 CBC Books’ Best Canadian Nonfiction of 2024 “Here is my disconnect: the private and public self. My mind and body. The real person and curated spectacle. . . . Are there...

A Life in Words, the first complete translation of Ismat Chughtai's celebrated memoir Kaghazi hai Pairahan, provides a delightful account of several crucial years of her life. Along side vivid descriptions of her childhood years are the conflicted experiences of growing up in a large Muslim...

Rahul Pandita was fourteen years old when he was forced to leave his home in Srinagar along with his family. They were Kashmiri Pandits- the Hindu minority within a Muslim-majority Kashmir that was by 1990 becoming increasingly agitated with the cries of ?Azaadi? from India. Our Moon Has Blood...

From one of China’s most acclaimed and decorated writers comes a powerful first-person account of life in Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak. On January 25, 2020, after the central government imposed a lockdown in Wuhan, acclaimed Chinese writer Fang Fang began publishing an online diary. In...

This international bestseller is the true story of a devoted book lover who finds connection in the vast sea of Tokyo by recommending to strangers the book that will change their lives. “I'm the manager of a very unusual bookshop. I have over ten thousand books in my vast memory bank, and I'll...

A powerful memoir of overcoming adversity that will inspire you to find strength from within and shape your own destiny.Bharti Dhir faced many challenges in her childhood that could have broken her. As a baby, she was abandoned at a roadside in the Ugandan heat, and miraculously found by a...

In this unusual, engaging, and intimate collection of personal essays, Lambda Literary Award finalist Tania De Rozario recalls growing up as a queer, brown, fat girl in Singapore, blending memoir with elements of history, pop culture, horror films, and current events to explore the nature of...

From the New York Times bestselling author of World of Wonders, a lyrical book of short essays about food, offering a banquet of tastes, smells, memories, associations, and marvelous curiosities from nature In Bite by Bite, poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil explores the way food and drink...

“Essential reading for understanding not just Chinese American history but American history—and the American present.” —Celeste Ng, #1 bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere * TIME 100 Must-Read Books of 2023 * San Francisco Chronicle's Favorite Nonfiction * Kirkus Best...

No Longer Human (1948, Ningen Shikkaku / A Shameful Life / Confessions of a Faulty Man) was an attack on the traditions of Japan, capturing the postwar crisis of Japanese cultural identity. Framed by an epilogue and prologue, the story is told in the form three notebooks left by Ōba Yōzō, whose calm exterior hides his tormented soul. Osamu Dazai was a Japanese author who is considered one of the foremost fiction writers of 20th century Japan. A number of his most popular works, such as Shayō (The Setting Sun) and Ningen Shikkaku (No Longer Human), are considered modern-day classics in Japan.

A Most Anticipated Book by Poets & Writers The Boston Globe San Francisco Chronicle The Millions Library Journal Debutiful and many more! In the groundbreaking tradition of In the Dream House and The Collected Schizophrenias, a gorgeously illustrated speculative memoir...

Carlos Bulosan’s idealism and ambition would seem to position him for certain success in America, even given how young he is when he first makes the journey from the Philippines. However, after arriving in Seattle, employers are far more concerned with his Filipino background than they are with his character. Low-paying jobs - and an uncertain future - remain his daily reality.

A young girl forced to work in a Queens sweatshop calls child services on her mother in this powerful debut memoir about labor and self-worth that traces a Chinese immigrant’s journey to an American future. As a teen, Anna Qu is sent by her mother to work in her family’s garment factory in...

Helena Rho was six years old when her family left Seoul, Korea, for America and its opportunities. Years later, her Korean-ness behind her, Helena had everything a model minority was supposed to want: she was married to a white American doctor and had a beautiful home, two children, and a career as an assistant professor of pediatrics. For decades she fulfilled the expectations of others. All the while Helena kept silent about the traumas - both professional and personal - that left her anxious yet determined to escape.

“Essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary life in China, and highly recommended for memoir enthusiasts in general.” -- Library Journal (starred review) ""Chongda paints a tantalizing portrait of a changing China in his dazzling English-language debut. [Vessel] shines with the...