Eva Chen releases new book, “I AM GOLDEN”
“Growing up, I felt like I lived in two different worlds. There was "School Eva" — I’d chatter in English to my classmates, rejoice when it was pizza day for lunch, and obsess over whatever boy band was trending at the time. But come 3 P.M., when I would get picked up, I would be re-immersed in a world that centered around being Chinese. I'd speak Mandarin to my parents, I'd warble along with whatever Chinese songs my parents listened to, and we'd spend weekends grocery shopping on Mott Street in New York City's Chinatown or eating soup dumplings in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Flushing, Queens.
I never questioned that this bifurcated existence was anything other than normal until a classmate bullied me in grade school. I was about eight years old and the fellow student pulled the corners of his eyes and made some comments in a singsong voice during recess. The boy was popular — and I most definitely wasn't — so all the other kids laughed along with him. Today, I still live close by the school. When I pass the playground where it happened, decades later, the memory washes over me as though it were yesterday,” writes Eva Chen of her new book “I AM GOLDEN."
When I asked Eva what this book would have meant to her younger self, she said “One of my motivations for writing this book is because I didn't find many (actually, ANY!) books where I saw my experience reflected. I AM GOLDEN reflects who I was as a child and the reassurance I needed then. In writing this book, I wanted to create something that will celebrate children and help them feel the joy of being uniquely themselves. I wish I had a book like this growing up!”
Kids are tough critics, so I also asked Eva what her own kids thought of the book. She said, “Oh! I am so so so happy that they like it. It's sparked a lot of great conversations around being Chinese, what it means for them to be biracial, and how proud Mommy is of being Chinese American. I hope that this book is a conversation starter for parents, educators, and kids alike!”
Consider gifting a copy to a child in your life. I’m betting they’ll remember it well into their adulthood.
