Overview
Winner of the Pacific Northwest Book Award.
āA nuanced mediation on love, identity, and belonging. This story of survival radiates with resilience and hope.ā āPublishers Weekly (starred review)
āThis openhearted memoir . . . opens the door to include queer descendants of war survivors into the growing American library of love.ā āSarah Schulman, author of Let the Record Show
When Putsata Reang was eleven months old, her family fled war-torn Cambodia, spending twenty-three days on an overcrowded navy vessel before finding sanctuary at an American naval base in the Philippines. Holding what appeared to be a lifeless baby, Ma resisted the captainās orders to throw her bundle overboard. Instead, on landing, Ma rushed her baby into the arms of American military nurses and doctors, who saved the childās life. āI had hope, just a little, you were still alive,ā Ma would tell Putsata in an oft-repeated story that became family legend.
Over the years, Putsata lives to please Ma and make her proud, hustling to repay her life debt by becoming the consummate good Cambodian daughter, working steadfastly by Maās side in the berry fields each summer and eventually building a successful career as an award-winning journalist. But Putsataās adoration and efforts are no match for Maās expectations. When Putsata comes out to Ma in her twenties, Ma tells her itās just a phase. When Putsata fails to bring home a Khmer boyfriend, itās because sheās not trying hard enough. When, at the age of forty, Putsata tells Ma she is finally getting marriedāto a womanāit breaks their bond in two.
In her startling memoir, Putsata Reang explores the long legacy of inherited trauma and the crushing weight of cultural and filial duty. With rare clarity and lyric wisdom, Ma and Me is a stunning, deeply moving memoir about love, debt, and duty.
This book title, Ma and Me (A Memoir) - 9781250867124, ISBN: 9781250867124, by Putsata Reang, published by Picador (May 16, 2023) is available in paperback. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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