How to American
An Immigrant's Guide to Disappointing Your Parents
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Standup comic, actor and fan favorite from HBO's Silicon Valley and the film Crazy Rich Asians shares his memoir of growing up as a Chinese immigrant in California and making it in Hollywood.
"I turned down a job in finance to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. My dad thought I was crazy. But I figured it was better to disappoint my parents for a few years than to disappoint myself for the rest of my life. I had to disappoint them in order to pursue what I loved. That was the only way to have my Chinese turnip cake and eat an American apple pie too."
Jimmy O. Yang is a standup comedian, film and TV actor and fan favorite as the character Jian Yang from the popular HBO series Silicon Valley. In How to American, he shares his story of growing up as a Chinese immigrant who pursued a Hollywood career against the wishes of his parents: Yang arrived in Los Angeles from Hong Kong at age 13, learned English by watching BET RapCity for three hours a day, and worked as a strip club DJ while pursuing his comedy career. He chronicles a near deportation episode during a college trip Tijuana to finally becoming a proud US citizen ten years later. Featuring those and many other hilarious stories, while sharing some hard-earned lessons, How to American mocks stereotypes while offering tongue in cheek advice on pursuing the American dreams of fame, fortune, and strippers.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Silicon Valley star Jimmy O. Yang moved with his parents from Hong Kong to Los Angeles when he was just 13 so that he could get into a top-notch university and have a prestigious career. But Jimmy had other dreams: to party like Jay-Z and DJ at a strip club. We can’t remember the last time a book made us laugh out loud so many times. Whether it’s Yang’s anecdotes about integrating into American society with the help of BET or getting shown up by his dad while trying to become an actor, we were totally charmed by his unique perspective on the immigrant experience.
Customer Reviews
Funny and can relate to most of his jokes
As an immigrant, I feel Jimmy is a role model and an inspiration as we share the same background and ethnicity
Simply Lovely!
Simply Lovely!
A must read for every Asian immigrant to the States.
Very easy to read, well written and good mix of serious & funny to keep you from not putting it down. Well done Jimmy!