Ly Tran | House of Sticks: A Memoir | Talks at Google

Ly Tran to discusses her book House of Sticks: A Memoir, a timely and powerful memoir of a girl’s coming-of-age and struggle to find her voice amid clashing cultural expectations.

Ly Tran was just a toddler in 1993 when she and her family immigrated from a small town along the Mekong river in Vietnam to a two-bedroom railroad apartment in Queens. Ly’s father, a former lieutenant in the South Vietnamese army, spent nearly a decade as a prisoner of war. Their resettlement was made possible through a humanitarian program run by the US government. Soon after they arrived, Ly joined her parents and three older brothers sewing ties and cummerbunds piece-meal on their living room floor to make ends meet.

As they navigated this new landscape, Ly found herself torn between two worlds. She knew she must honor her parents’ Buddhist faith and contribute to the family livelihood, working long hours at home and eventually as a manicurist alongside her mother at a nail salon in Brooklyn that her parents took over. But at school, Ly felt the mounting pressure to blend in. With a growing inability to see the blackboard at school, Ly was faced with new challenges, especially when her father forbade her from getting glasses, calling her diagnosis of poor vision a government conspiracy. His frightening temper and paranoia leave a mark on Ly’s sense of self. Who is she outside of everything her family expects of her?

Ly Tran graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Creative Writing and Linguistics in 2014. She has received fellowships from MacDowell, Art Omi, and Yaddo.

Moderated by Jonathan Joa.

[dianeisbell]

Thank you sharing with us your life and tribulations thru your vivid memoir. My 10 yrs old son and I are truly encouraged by your perseverance despite many road blocks along the way. You are truly a story of success and so proud of your work .

[allenculbertson]

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[edmilsonalexandre]

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[brandoYT]

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