Beautifully nuanced memoir about what it means to exist in a body and all of its intersections. Lots of insightful anecdotes about growing up as an Asian immigrant, person with fertility issues, abuse survivor, and so much more.

I was struck by the author's repeated gentleness in the face of truly horrific things that happened to her. She has the ability to look past the incident and think about the past events that led to each situation, finding, if not forgiveness, then understanding and empathy for the struggles passed on by her parents and their parents before her. Although everyone's journey with their trauma is different, and there is no "correct" way to heal, Grace Talusan shows a clear reflection and does a great job tying up so many complex topics into one central theme.

The writing was just okay for me. It didn't have the same narrative, poetic feel as other memoirs that I've read and greatly enjoyed. There were some profound quotes, and like I said Talusan brings a sense of gentleness and loving reflection, which lends itself to an overarching hopeful tone, and sets it apart from similar memoirs. Although the topics dealt with are intimately intertwined with Talusan's personal trauma, she doesn't go into much detail regarding the healing process itself, which is completely fine but may not appeal to fans of other memoirs like What My Bones Know.

Despite my feelings about the writing itself, I have to acknowledge that this book hits a lot of topics that are not talked about in the mainstream, something that the author herself speaks a bit about. Thanks to other diasporic Asian people sharing their stories, I know that discussions about mental health and personal experience are quite taboo in a lot of Asian cultures, but I was surprised to learn just how secretive Filipino culture is, and the political and historical reasoning behind the cultural habits of Filipino people. Because of this, I recognize that Talusan's book will be incredibly helpful for a lot of people.

Although this wasn't my favorite memoir of all time, it was still beautiful, unique, and eye-opening. It occupies a specific, nuanced space in the memoir space, and is 100% worth reading.