The Manicurist's Daughter
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- $25.99
Publisher Description
"Susan Lieu's narration of her memoir, The Manicurist's Daughter, adds to the already raw emotion that flows throughout her journey to know her mother."—The Berkshire Eagle
This program is read by the author.
An emotionally raw memoir about the crumbling of the American Dream and a daughter of refugees who searches for answers after her mother dies during plastic surgery.
Susan Lieu has long been searching for answers. About her family’s past and about her own future. Refugees from the Vietnam War, Susan’s family escaped to California in the 1980s after five failed attempts. Upon arrival, Susan’s mother was their savvy, charismatic North Star, setting up two successful nail salons and orchestrating every success—until Susan was eleven. That year, her mother died from a botched tummy tuck. After the funeral, no one was ever allowed to talk about her or what had happened.
For the next twenty years, Susan navigated a series of cascading questions alone—why did the most perfect person in her life want to change her body? Why would no one tell her about her mother’s life in Vietnam? And how did this surgeon, who preyed on Vietnamese immigrants, go on operating after her mother’s death? Sifting through depositions, tracking down the surgeon’s family, and enlisting the help of spirit channelers, Susan uncovers the painful truth of her mother, herself, and the impossible ideal of beauty.
The Manicurist’s Daughter is much more than a memoir about grief, trauma, and body image. It is a story of fierce determination, strength in shared culture, and finding your place in the world.
A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Susan Lieu was filled with questions after losing her mother at age 11—and in this intimate memoir, she finally gets answers. The child of Vietnamese refugees, Lieu spent her California childhood amid the hustle and bustle of her larger-than-life mother Phuong Ha’s two nail salons. But when Phuong Ha died on a plastic surgeon’s table, the Lieus shut down emotionally, refusing to even speak about the woman who’d been the centre of their universe. The Manicurist’s Daughter is narrated by Lieu herself and she deconstructs those crucial years, recalling everything from warm family meals to arguing with her mom on the day she died. She also brings us along on the emotional roller coaster as she opens doors that were locked to her in her childhood, like getting to know her mother’s family in Vietnam, exploring the malpractice case against the doctor, and learning about the pressures that led such a confident, frugal woman into a cosmetic surgeon’s office in the first place. This haunting memoir reveals that secrets can lurk in even the most seemingly ordinary families.
