Memoir-essays from an award-winning writer, exploring race, sex, familial expectation and identity.
Raised by strict, religious, Malaysian Chinese parents in Brisbane’s southern suburbs, Yen-Rong Wong internalised an idealised image of a Chinese-presenting girl at a young age. As she grew into young adulthood, she began to bristle against the weight of these expectations and the pressure to conform to cultural notions of family and future.
However, she couldn’t find any stories to help her forge her own path – so she decided to write one for herself. In this compelling collection of essays, Wong blends memoir and cultural criticism to interrogate perceptions around sex, racism, and familial dynamics. Laying bare her own life, she examines the joys and difficulties that lie at the intersections of her identity.
Brave, unflinching, and with a dash of wry humour, Me, Her, Us is a provocative book for our times.
‘Smart, audacious and deadpan funny, a book that interrogates a young woman’s quest for identity and belonging in intrepid and unexpected ways.’ – Alice Pung
‘Me, Her, Us is a gift, speaking loudly in the silences so many of us will recognise, playing a vital role in ensuring those silences cease to exist for the generations to come.’ – Yassmin Abdel-Magied
‘Yen-Rong Wong is whip smart in her assertions on language, subcultures and family ties, and takes readers on a journey that is as unapologetic as it is vulnerable.’ – Michelle Law
‘Incisive and bold… Wong’s vulnerability and fierce commitment to creating nuanced and open conversations about Asian Australian women’s experience of sex shine throughout.’ – The Big Issue
‘An important and defiantly provocative debut.’ – ArtsHub
‘Wong’s essays are rich with literary references, nuanced in their perspectives, and unflinching in their intimacy and depth in culturally avoided topics.’ – Readings Monthly
‘The prose reads like thoughts that have been felt deeply but not articulated in public until this moment. This positions the reader as a confidant – a profound connection that enables you to devour Me, Her, Us.‘ – The Saturday Paper