Making a Scene
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4.0 • 32 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
“Illuminating.” —The Washington Post * “Candid and relatable.” —Time *“Riveting and personal.” —Mindy Kaling * “Captivatingly immediate.” —The Skimm *
A “poignant, frank, and intimate” (The New York Times) memoir by actress Constance Wu about family, love, sex, shame, trauma, and how she found her voice.
Growing up in the friendly suburbs of Richmond, Virginia, Constance Wu was often scolded for having big feelings or strong reactions. “Good girls don’t make scenes,” people warned her. And while she spent most of her childhood suppressing her bold, emotional nature, she found an early outlet in community theater—it was the one place where big feelings were okay—were good, even. Acting became her refuge, and eventually her vocation. At eighteen she moved to New York, where she’d spend the next ten years of her life auditioning, waiting tables, and struggling to make rent before her two big breaks: the TV sitcom Fresh Off the Boat and the hit film Crazy Rich Asians.
Here Constance shares private memories of childhood, young love and heartbreak, sexual assault and harassment, and how she “made it” in Hollywood. Raw, relatable, and enthralling, Making a Scene is an intimate portrait of the pressures and pleasures of existing in today’s world.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Crazy Rich Asians star Constance Wu invites us to get to know her better in her candid, thoughtful memoir. Wu reveals her most embarrassing, heartwarming, and gut-wrenching moments. Her life’s journey—which took her from Richmond, Virginia, to New York City to Los Angeles—has included hardships like dealing with her own #MeToo moment and reconciling with her mother after her parents’ contentious divorce. No subject is off limits, but it’s not all heavy—we loved learning about the actress’ history of owning cheap, falling-apart cars and were fascinated by tidbits like the fact that she originally planned to become a speech therapist. Wu’s intimate, conversational approach draws you right in, even when she’s dissecting ugly subjects like Asian American stereotypes in the media or Hollywood misogyny. Making a Scene is full of deeply personal insights.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Wu, star of Crazy Rich Asians, dazzles in this essay collection about love, family, and her hard-won path to Hollywood success. The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, Wu was discouraged from calling attention to herself while growing up in 1980s Richmond, Va., but found an outlet in acting. Despite "assimilating very well" in her predominantly white hometown (doing "all the normal American stuff like cheerleading and... sleepover parties"), Wu couldn't ignore the discomfort she felt when watching Asian characters on screen. As she writes in "Welcome to Jurassic Park": "My face always burned with shame, especially if that character spoke with an Asian accent." It wasn't until 2015, when Wu took a starring role in the sitcom Fresh off the Boat as Jessica, a Taiwanese immigrant and mother to three Asian American children, that her mindset changed: "Off the Boat wasn't race-neutral. It was race-relevant." While the show was groundbreaking—centering an Asian American family's story on American television for the first time in more than 20 years—Wu reveals in "You Do What I Say" that it didn't protect her from the harassment of a producer, or from later having to fight for filming dates that worked for her with Crazy Rich Asians. Even still, Wu remained undeterred, and it's that dogged determination that radiates from every page. Fans will feel lucky to be in on the action.
Customer Reviews
Stunning!
It’s such a good book that shows how Wu got through her hard times and this book makes me
cry and laugh every time I read it!! Loved it, definitely one of my favorite. Go read it, it’s awesome! 🤍
Teachable Read
You learn something every day, and from my reading, I’ve learned a few things about Men Behaving Badly.
Powerful Fenale Energy
Emotionally rich and raw, Wu writes reflections of her identity as an artist, woman, and daughter throughout her life. Made me cry with how personal and emotional her recollections are and how deep the narrative of love and triumph is embedded in her stories.