"When there is reluctance to talk about race and identity, I get angry because it belittles my constant awareness the work I do around understanding how my identity is interpreted by others. I get angry because I work hard in finishing a way to articulate my identity, my difference, so that it fits your understanding. And I get angry because by not seeing race you have stripped me of my heritage. If you don't see race, you don't see me"

This collection of essays by prominent East and South East Asian individuals who created and continue to occupy space on literature, further education, film and so forth was like congee on a cold day. 

"sword and word are only one letter apart"

So much of the reflections resonated deeply with me; othering, internalised white supremacy, silence. Some stories are humourous, some complex and some bewildering. But all stems from hope, the will to continue and celebration of the elusive and plurality in which we love within.

Some standout chapters:

The deafening silence of divorce

The portrait

The brilliant "I ran, I laugh, I dance to the beyond", a love letter to the land and the grains of soil underneath. Those who have toiled above and embed their indigenous culture through a millennia. 

The wonderfully unsightly and compassionate proposal by Tash Aw; this essay has led me to their backlist.

What was also evident, is the survivor instinct from our ancestors. Learn from the past, make the most of the present and look forward; sometimes that was all they could do.

This book made me cry, call my parents and just sit to listen to them talk about their day. Those sweet sounds which hold so much wisdom.