All Our Ordinary Stories
A Multigenerational Family Odyssey
From the author of Dear Scarlet comes a graphic memoir about the obstacles one daughter faces as she attempts to connect with her immigrant parents.
Beginning with her mother’s stroke in 2014, Teresa Wong takes us on a moving journey through time and place to locate the beginnings of the disconnection she feels from her parents. Through a series of stories – some epic, like her mother and father’s daring escapes from communes during China’s Cultural Revolution, and some banal, like her quitting Chinese school to watch Saturday morning cartoons – Wong carefully examines the cultural, historical, language, and personality barriers to intimacy in her family, seeking answers to the questions 'Where did I come from?' and 'Where are we going?' At the same time, she discovers how storytelling can bridge distances and help make sense of a life.
A book for children of immigrants trying to honour their parents’ pasts while also making a different kind of future for themselves, All Our Ordinary Stories is poignant in its understated yet nuanced depictions of complicated family dynamics. Wong’s memoir is a heartfelt exploration of identity and inheritance, as well as a testament to the transformative power of stories both told and untold.
Teresa Wong is a writer and cartoonist based in Calgary, Canada. Her comics and illustrated essays have appeared in The Believer, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, and The Walrus. Her first graphic memoir, Dear Scarlet: The Story of My Postpartum Depression, was a finalist for the City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize and was longlisted for CBC Canada Reads.
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