An emotionally raw memoir about the crumbling of the American Dream and a daughter of refugees who searches for answers after her mother dies during plastic surgery.
Susan Lieu has long been searching for answers. About her family’s past and about her own future. Refugees from the Vietnam War, Susan’s family escaped to California in the 1980s after five failed attempts. Upon arrival, Susan’s mother was their savvy, charismatic North Star, setting up two successful nail salons and orchestrating every success—until Susan was eleven. That year, her mother died from a botched tummy tuck. After the funeral, no one was ever allowed to talk about her or what had happened.
For the next twenty years, Susan navigated a series of cascading questions alone—why did the most perfect person in her life want to change her body? Why would no one tell her about her mother’s life in Vietnam? And how did this surgeon, who preyed on Vietnamese immigrants, go on operating after her mother’s death? Sifting through depositions, tracking down the surgeon’s family, and enlisting the help of spirit channelers, Susan uncovers the painful truth of her mother, herself, and the impossible ideal of beauty.
The Manicurist’s Daughter is much more than a memoir about grief, trauma, and body image. It is a story of fierce determination, strength in shared culture, and finding your place in the world.
A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.
Download and start listening now!
Devastating yet healing, painful yet humorous, epic yet intimate, The Manicurist’s Daughter made my eyes weep yet my heart sing. Susan Lieu astonishes me with her ability to transform pain, fear and anger into healing, freedom and hope. This book is the pathway to peace, an admirable achievement from one of America’s leading diasporic Vietnamese performance artists.
—
Nguy?n Phan Qu? Mai, internationally bestselling author of The Mountains Sing and Dust Child