Seeing Ghosts was a beautiful and poignant memoir that invited the reader into Chow's journey through grief. As much as this memoir was an homage of sorts to her late mother, it was also one that reflected on family dynamics—particularly between Chow and her father—as well as honoring one's family history and culture. Grief certainly was at the center of this memoir, but there was also an abundance of care and love that permeated throughout the pages. Chow demonstrates how one can still find hope even in times of darkness.

I was familiar with Chow's work from her time with NPR's Code Switch, and her wonderful storytelling really shone in this memoir in a way that honored her family, history, and culture. I also appreciated the insight of growing up in Connecticut in an Asian immigrant household, which had its own challenges. (On this note, I am all for more Asian American New Englanders writing about their lived experiences, haha.)

memoir about grief, involving layers of intergenerational loss and stifling of all that’s left unspoken. Unsurprisingly, I loved this one.

 I’ve read some outstanding memoirs lately and Seeing Ghosts by Kat Chow just joined that list. Thank you @grandcentralpub for the gifted copy!

Seeing Ghosts is centered around the author’s experience losing her mother to cancer at a young age. She also explores several generations of her family’s history in China, The United States, and Cuba and the complicated family dynamics that shaped her.

In many ways this is a ghost story. She describes the lingering emotions tied to grief, generational trauma, and learning about loved ones after their death. It was such an affecting way to frame her experience.

It took a few chapters to get into the flow because the narrative bounces around in time through short vignettes. But once I was in the groove, I was captivated by Kat Chow’s storytelling!

I loved that the book also included family photos. The writing is vivid, but the photos were a beautiful and intimate addition that made me feel even closer to her story. 

“What is grief, if not the act of survival.”

“This is what it means to lose someone, understanding how, after all these years, memories shift and shape us. How we cannot exorcise someone as much as we try; we must learn the ways in which we preserve parts of them in ourselves.”

This book was a heartbreaking and raw memoir about grief and loss. The loss of a parent. The loss of culture. The loss of language and connection through it. The loss of family. And by the end, it’s a story about somehow piecing things back together even if it takes years and years.

It’s a story of immigration.

It’s a story of family.

This book tackles race and the divide within races and the discrimination they face.

It speaks on depression and the generational differences.

The idea of success, survival, and poverty. Particularly, how poverty effects peoples ability to go to the doctor and peoples relationship with them and distrust.

It speaks on the idea of the “right” way of immigration, which is constantly a battle in the US.

I loved this memoir. It was heavy, but purposeful and I definitely would recommend it for those who can handle the triggers.