May Musings
Asian Heritage Month and May gardening
May is a full month with my birthday, Asian Heritage Month (Canadian)/AANHPI Heritage Month (US), full spring in Edmonton which means starting the garden, and gearing up for the end of the school year. I’m dreaming of last summer when I spent 2 months immersed in my YA fiction project and finished my first draft. I can be there again sooooooon.
Muted Colours update
The excitement is starting to build as I got to see my final proofs of the book before it gets turned into an Advanced Reader Copy. I’m spending time on the promotion side of things and fingers crossed, will be doing an Eastern Canada book tour in August 2027 (eeek!).
ICYMI, you can pre-order MUTED COLOURS now! (preferably from an indie bookstore!)
May garden update
I have not done any garden clean-up because I’m waiting until nighttime temps are consistently around 10 degrees celsius (the 3 degrees we had on my birthday was not the norm!) With climate change, I find things to be even less predictable every year in terms of when I should get things going. Plus, my seasonal allergies have been absolutely horrid (which I’m told is also impacted by climate change) so spending time outdoors is something my body punishes me for.
I AM very happy with the perennial bulbs I have (daffodils and tulips), and early blooming native wildflowers (prairie crocus below) - because it means there is beauty popping up without me having to make any effort! Perennials and native wildflowers for the win!
Consider planting native wildflowers in your yard!
Planting Native Wildflower Seeds
MEDIA CLUB
I’m Asian, so obviously I’m going to take advantage of Asian Heritage Month to make recs for Asian creatives!
READ:
Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White America by Julia Lee
Although I’m not a Korean American, I related so much to many of Julia’s experiences - so much that I cite her in my forthcoming book MUTED COLOURS. Her struggles with belonging, with racism, with the cultural chasm between immigrant parents and American-born child, and with coming to terms with her racial identity - truly made me feel seen. She also explains a lot of concepts with regards to racism, which I think is important to give people labels for what they’re experiencing. It was akin to an Asian woman version of Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be An Antiracist. I definitely felt all the feels, especially in her stories about her mother. We second generation immigrant children can have very complicated relationships with our parents.
Permission to Come Home: Reclaiming Mental Health as Asian Americans by Jenny T. Wang
I cite from Permission to Come Home quite a bit in my forthcoming book MUTED COLOURS because it had such an impact on me. My Asian friends living in the diaspora, holding that third culture space and trying to work through reconciling your immigrant parents’ experience with your own - you NEED this book. I understood so much more about my troubled relationship with my ethnic identity by working through this book. Jenny T. Wang is a gracious and compassionate guide. 5 stars!!
ALL my Asian Author Book Recs:
WATCH
Ronny Chieng on The Daily Show
Yes I love Ronny Chieng so much I did an overnight trip to Vancouver with my sister on boxing day to see him live with fellow comedian Hasan Minhaj. His angry Asian man energy is hilarious but he also has such poignant moments (and I love when he’s trying to stay angry but is actively breaking during the bit). These 2 segments have brought me so much joy.
LISTEN
Comedian Julie Kim interviews author Jen Sookfong Lee on her podcast BOTHERED
This was such a fabulous conversation between two Asian Canadian women in the arts who have experienced what SO MANY OF US have, and talk so openly and vulnerably about it. Funny, earnest, and insightful.