Fresh Pages and Blank Sheets of Paper [#108]

Enjoying that freedom of expression so hard that I'm putting out a book ;)

I think y’all know my dad defected from China during the Cultural Revolution, swimming through shark-infested waters for hours to Hong Kong, after escaping the pig farm where he was laboring. (He was one of Mao’s “sent down youth.”) Dad was only able to come into the United States thanks to the Hart-Celler Immigration Act of 1965 and the help of my grandfather, working various channels to get my dad to America safely. (Grandpa had left China to study in St. Louis before the Chinese Civil War broke out and was kinda stuck here as a result.)

My dad, on Shanghai’s Bund in 1966, not long before he defected.

So I am riveted watching students in China trying to speak out against the latest authoritarian leader there, bursting into tears at images of them holding blank sheets of paper. That they are prohibited from expressing displeasure with the government means those blank sheets say so much.

I don’t know much about intergenerational trauma, but I hear it can really live in your bones, with previous generations’ experiences imprinted in our cells. All I know is the struggle against Chinese leadership over the weekend is something I have felt in my body.

Reading

So moving listening to Chinese protesters’ demonstrations at Tsinghua University, my grandfather’s alma mater. Destinations to skip traveling to in 2023 so the land can get a break. Homeland security admits it tried to manufacture fake terrorists for Trump. Brian Eno on the purpose of all art. The founders of Honest Tea (which Coca-Cola is going to discontinue) started a new iced tea called Just Ice Tea, which is similar!

My favorite NPR intern ever (who has long since graduated past intern status) was in Ireland on a Fulbright studying abortion policy when she endured a miscarriage, her second. This piece, which comes out of that time, is beautiful, resonant and thought-provoking.

Werk Werk Werk

The 2022 NPR Book Concierge is here to help you select great books for your holiday reading and gifting. I contributed with a review of Lark and Kasim Start a Revolution. Speaking of books…

The eerie cover of FLAWLESS, coming May 23, 2023 from Dutton Books

ICYMI, during the lockdown years I researched and wrote a book about the way capitalism’s core conceit — transformation through spending — means remaking our very bodies. Where do we draw the line, when technology makes it easier and cheaper to do that? I wrestle with the labor of beauty work in FLAWLESS, which is available for preorder now. Preorders give publishers a sense of excitement for a book, so if you’re excited, smash that preorder button! And I’ll be updating publishing milestones over at the dedicated Flawless email insider list, if you haven’t signed up already.

Related, I talked with the BBC about male beauty rituals and objectification, an area where South Korea’s men really lead the pack.

Holiday Shopping? Some Stuff I’ve Bought Lately:

• A pair of wine stoppers for those unfinished bottles of wine

• More colors of the ThirdLove 24/7 Uplift Plunge bra, currently on sale

• Random things from the A24 shop, which is so great. For example, this coffee table book of film swag!

Hoo boy this edition felt like a long one.

Thanks for sticking around,

E