The Manicurist’s Daughter, by Susan Lieu, is one of those memoirs that has quickly earned a place in my heart. Although my cultural background is super different from Lieu’s, her deep emotions, her grief, and her quest to fit in within her own family was easy to connect to.

Lieu’s book (and perhaps her whole life) was shaped by the death of her force-of-nature mother, who died at the age of 38 after a botched plastic surgery operation. Lieu’s family was of the mindset that pain is best left unspoken, and this major event that occurred when she was a young kid ended up significantly impacting the rest of her life (including her career, her relationships, and her self-image). Her quest to find acceptance from her family and to better understand who her mother was (and ultimately what led to her death) is heartfelt and moving.

I really appreciated the structure of this memoir. Usually, I like books like this to be told chronologically, but Lieu’s memoir jumps around since pieces of her family history were only told to her as an adult. I felt grateful to get this inside look into an immigrant family’s lives and into the drive that her family had to become successful in the US. But perhaps the element of the novel I felt most impacted by was her descriptions of how food and body image and family were so tied together in her life. The details about the dishes her family members would make for her to eat, and then the simultaneous criticisms they would give her about her weight were heartbreaking but relatable.

Lieu considers herself a performer, and it was her one-woman show that helped inspire her to write this book. However, I hope that Lieu decides to write more books in the future. Her style is insightful and honest, and I gained so much from reading her story.

5 stars

*Free ARC provided by Celadon Books in exchange for an honest review*