Dimensions
135 x 202 x 14mm
From an early age' Lac Su's family had to deal with the most harrowing of life obstacles. Their lives threatened by the Communist régime in Vietnam' they had to escape their homeland in an arduous and death-defying boat journey. After being saved by a naval cruiser near Hong Kong' Lac' his parents' and his young sister all immigrated to Los Angeles. Despite his hopes for a paradise much more beautiful than his homeland' however' Lac soon found out that the American Dream was not all it was cracked up to be. Living in squalid conditions and barely making ends meet' his family struggled to forge its identity in a cultural hodge podge that often invited more trouble than solace.
At the heart of this stirring memoir is the complicated relationship between Lac and his harsh' exacting father' whose desperation to provide a better life for his family -- but to make them as tough-skinned as he is -- informs Lac's entire life. One day' when Lac hugs him and tells him he loves him' his father's searing answer is simply this: "I love yous are for white people." Soon enough' Lac's search for love and acceptance leads him to a dangerous gang experience that threatens to tear his life apart. Drawing from deep within himself' he must transcend his limitations and make a better life for himself.
Pulse-pounding' heart-wrenching' and eventually uplifting' I LOVE YOUS ARE FOR WHITE PEOPLE is memoir at its most affecting' depicting the struggles that countless immigrants have faced in their pursuit of a better life.
