Scan barcode
A review by deecreatenola
The Body Papers: A Memoir by Grace Talusan
3.0
Grace Talusan's memoir incorporates here complicated history of trauma and sexual assault with what it's like to be an immigrant in suburban America. She has a lot to say and teach us.
There's so much here that I think I would've actually liked two memoirs, one devoted to the assaults she suffered from and one about the immigrant experience. Combined was almost too much.
The story is framed - it begins as she returns to the Philippines after having come to America at age 2 and then returns to that same trip at the end. She eludes to the trauma but it's several chapters before you find out what happened. I think I would've liked to have known up front, to have the trauma story out there right in that first chapter and then going back to her arrival to the U.S. and what her early years were like.
She's a strong survivor, one who really tries to make things better for everyone, often neglecting her own needs. With this memoir I hope she can begin to truly heal and live for herself.
There's so much here that I think I would've actually liked two memoirs, one devoted to the assaults she suffered from and one about the immigrant experience. Combined was almost too much.
The story is framed - it begins as she returns to the Philippines after having come to America at age 2 and then returns to that same trip at the end. She eludes to the trauma but it's several chapters before you find out what happened. I think I would've liked to have known up front, to have the trauma story out there right in that first chapter and then going back to her arrival to the U.S. and what her early years were like.
She's a strong survivor, one who really tries to make things better for everyone, often neglecting her own needs. With this memoir I hope she can begin to truly heal and live for herself.