So after a day or two, the teacher recommended that I be put in a classroom for students with disabilities, even though I had no disabilities. All of us are stared at and assumed to be new converts or gentile. It wasn't until the discourse of the 2016 election, which took place just six months after I became a naturalized U.S. citizen, that I discovered that I had a newfound power and thus responsibility to share my story, that at that juncture of my life, I was making an actual decision to stay quiet - a privilege that millions of undocumented immigrants do not have. Something was wrong with my relationship to the food, I figured. One cannot be passionate about demolishing systemic barriers of racism and wealth inequality while remaining apathetic to food sustainability and climate change. Kathryn Monaco:Thank you for sharing your story! So, when all of us have our guards down and the children come out, its like the best playtime ever. Her story is a modern day Jewish American immigrant tale, and over e-mail we spoke about what it means to have this book out in the world, her work with Jews of Color and the meaningful publication of "Beautiful Country" on Rosh Hashanah. Was it hard writing such a memoir? By virtue of being Asian is just - I was just seen as being weak. It's based only on what people know of the conditions in America. But two months later, on December 30, I was done with the entire draft. Around twice a year, publishing houses used to hold informal drinks parties where journalists could meet authors and chat about their forthcoming books. I bit the insides of my cheeks, my appetite gone, while the friend closest to me explained that they had all just been complaining about how horrible the food was. She said, secrets - they hold such power over us, don't they? You didn't speak English. QJW: Its definitely a two-way street. Rarely are we able able to attend services without receiving at least some inappropriate, offensive remark. Beautiful Country Watching Moment Magazine wonderful moderator Sarah Berger interview of Qian Julie Wang was a welcome & sad experience. I mean, they were in their early 30s at the time. The stories that we tell ourselves about ourselves are the most powerful of all, and we have a lot of choice in how we allow society to tell us how to tell our story. Which books inspired you to write your memoir and which have inspired you most recently? My small hope is that if my parents don't read the full book until it's available to the public, they won't know the full scale of details shared, so they won't be sitting there, counting down the days to when ICE might be banging down their doors. We were watching one of these earlier this year and our ears pricked up when an American came on who spoke extremely eloquently about her debut novel. Verified. Beautiful Country : A Memoir of An Undocumented Childhood It was my biggest and wildest ambition to write a book that might allow others out there to see themselves reflected in literature, and have them know that it is possible to survive similar circumstances. the truth? We are not a monolith by any means, but the unity of intersectionality is a beautiful thing. QIAN JULIE WANG is a graduate of Yale Law School and Swarthmore College. WANG: My father, I think, would've been very different if we had stayed in China. I just assumed everyone was like that. As such, our group's mission is first and foremost to build a safe space for Jews of Color to connect and engage in their religion - shelter for when we feel utterly unwanted in all other Jewish spaces. Her hunger was regularly so intense that she broke into cold sweatswhich, according to her Ma Ma, meant Wang was growing and getting stronger. Please try again later. SIMON: Yeah. I decided to embark on writing this when I became a citizen in May 2016, six months before the election. I lived and breathed books. Thats how I learnt Englishbut nobody in literature looked like me , Channel thatempathy into youreveryday life. It d, Decca helpsto push forcitizenship., I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, Bobbin furniture: our favourite interiors trend, Brand new collaborations that make our hearts sing, Sabrina Ghayours Persiana & Spiced Carrot, Pistachio and Almond Cake. Central to tikkun olam is hearing the call of the voiceless and fighting for justice in every available avenue. Qian Julie Wang It was then that I realized that what I had long thought of as singularly mine was no longer my secret to keep. In the book near the end a Judge says this very powerful line that seemed like the core of the book. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, The Giver.. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their two rescue dogs, Books played a central part in your childhood. WANG: I think that viewpoint is deeply myopic. What memoirs, or other books, inspired you in your writing process? There have been more than one report of, for instance, Black Jews being followed by synagogue security guards and Asian Jews being subjected to fetishized comments during services (if I had a nickel every time a man came up to me during prayer and told me about an Asian woman he once dated). Perhaps most of all though, books offered me a dependable and consistent cast of characters who would remain my friends and family no matter how far away I moved again. It was a physical kind of labor, and that was especially taxing for my mother not just because of her health issues, but also because she was a woman, and the ways that manifested I think deeply, deeply affected her. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou was a North Star in this project. The only way to balance it with working 60-80 hours a week was a concrete rule: As long as I was on the subway platform or on the subway on my way to or from work, I was writing on my phone. But each time I returned to that vision of a preteen discovering my book at the library when she needs it most, all of my fears fall by the wayside. Balance is a concept that I think few litigators know (I certainly dont!). She joins us now from Brooklyn, N.Y. Follow. As I started writing this book and then editing it, I was reacquainted with that 8-year-old little girl who found the condensed biography of Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and was reminded of all the reasons why she wanted to go into law, and how, in her mind, lawyers were so powerful. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Once I opened the floodgates and really let myself feel everything, it came back fairly quickly. My teacher spoke only Cantonese or English, neither of which I spoke. There, she lived with her father and mother as they struggled to make a life for themselves in America. SN: Theres a line in the book that reads, Ma Ma didnt know it, but she was the reason my imagination burned alive everywhere I went, the reason I saw love in all beings and things. Can you talk about the joyful, playful aspect of your relationship with your mom and your parents, and how they inspire your creativity? It was safe and I could always count on it to supply my old and new family and friends in the form of beloved characters and all for free. QJW: There are people in my life who know me only as Qian, and others who know me only as Julie. Qian Julie Wang (@qianjuliewang) - Instagram We speak to the author to hear more about her life and the book. Could you elaborate on how books provided comfort to you growing up? (SOUNDBITE OF SPIRITUALS' "A NEW KIND OF QUIET"). Learn more about Qian Julie Wangs memoir, Beautiful Country, here. Qian Julie Wang On Defining Her Own Fashion - ELLE Grade school was tough, wasn't it? And we were too terrified to find a doctor. Soon, she was spending all her free time in her local Chinatown library, soaking up as much English as possible. Second, I am delighted to be giving a speech that morning at Central Synagogue (live-streamed worldwide here) and in Radio City Music Hall. personal reflection by Qian Julie Wang 09. Without a doubt, it has been the Jews of Color community. Coming to America at age 7, she was thrown into the brand new world of New York City. Qian Julie Wang I think that kind of background at home cannot easily be supplanted by an external education system. What would you say to somebody who had read the book and felt moved to do something? Librarians are our unsung, modern-day heroes. It was clear early that my appreciation of Sharples was not widely shared, but I would not realize just how rare it was until one specific incident. So, now my mom is in her 50s, and shes playing with the carrot peel to just create something out of it. But I had to think about making an income, and law seemed like a way that I could use storytelling to make a difference in peoples lives and still make sure I could pay off my loans. For me, being Jewish cannot be separated from tikkun olam, the concept that calls upon us to repair the world. Here at the Reading Group Center, we are self-proclaimed book nerds, so you There was probably no better way to discover kindred spirits with whom I share my passion for activism, racial justice, immigrants rights and spirituality. Imagination, Reality, and Two Very Different Americas When seven-year-old Qian arrives in New York City in 1994 full of curiosity, she is overwhelmed by crushing fear and scarcity. There have been many times in the publication process when I have wondered whether I was crazy to go through with putting this book out into the world. KM: What is a book that youve read during the pandemic that has given you hope? They can be found on Twitter @sarahmariewrote. After immigrating to America, I was never able to feel fully at home in a public space. That was all pre-covid. Wang and her parents were undocumented, and the 2016 election - which occurred just after she became a naturalized American citizen - spurred her to begin writing her memoir on her phone on the subway. We are in overdrive pretty much all the time. It was really important for me to share the story from that childhood perspective because I know that some of the horrors of life can be much more palatable when presented to adults through the lens of a child, but at the same time deeply disturbing because this is a child whos filtering it through and not seeing everything that the adult should. And that was how our days in America started. Qian Julie Wang grew up in libraries. Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang You were thrown into a school. It is deeply problematic, and it creates this whole system of specialized high schools. people are often shocked to hear that i wrote my entire book on my commute while making partner at a natl law firm & enduring chronic workplace harassment& it should be said, within weeks of my DIY wedding.