Our family trees are more than dates and images. They are also stories that are passed down from one generation to the next. The question is, which stories are true and which are not?
Why Didn’t You Tell Me?: A Memoir, by journalist Carmen Rita Wong was published last month. Born in New York City, Wong is the daughter of immigrants. Her father came from China and her mother came from the Dominican Republic. From an early age, she could not shake the need to be included.
After her parents divorced, her mother remarried, moved to New Hampshire and had four more daughters. Other than her brother, Wong was one of the only children of color. As she grew up, Wong’s relationship with her mother, Lupe became difficult. Little did she know what secrets her mother had kept and the bombshells they would create upon being revealed.
This memoir is fantastic. Wong’s story is American, human, and complicated. I loved the semi-normality of her childhood and the questions that naturally came with the revelations of who her father really is. At the end of the day, it is a story of the choices we make (especially as parents) and the fallout of those decisions.
Do I recommend it? Yes.
Why Didn’t You Tell Me?: A Memoir is available wherever books are sold.
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