I am reviewing the audiobook version but can only find the entry for the paperback version of this book!

This audiobook was super interesting! I really enjoyed listening to it and think it would be great to read in physical form as well!

In this memoir, the author tells about her life growing up as the daughter of Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants who met in the United States. Her father, a notorious Vietnamese gang member, is in and out of jail and often on the run for many periods of her childhood. Felicia helped take care of her mother and her younger siblings all while growing up in a transient and impoverished home, witnessing domestic violence and experiencing abuse, navigating the cultural norms and expectations while trying to assimilate to American and Canadian ideals, were feats each and of themselves, much less compounded and while being only a young child! Heath also had interrupted schooling, and when she was at school, her father's crimes haunted her through teachers reading the headlines and other forms of discrimination she experienced throughout her disjointed education. With such a difficult experience as a child, it is incredible to see how she was able to use her trauma to grown and adapt and is a testament to her resiliency and unending ability to forgive.

This is a remarkable story and one I would definitely recommend! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to and review this audiobook!

I very much enjoyed this memoir of an Asian American woman navigating arising from conflictual family environments. Well written and interesting.

Spirit of a Hummingbird, the story of Felicia Thai. daughter of a mafia boss who was very aggressive and abusive with his wife and daughter, he didn't have any kind words or any time to care for his family, he pretended he cared but he only brought so much burdens and sadness.

Felicia's life was a roller coaster, she had to grow very fast after seeing and living many things she shouldn't have a such a young age, she lived with her aunt for a while, and her cousins bully her and did many atrocities she wasn't able to speak about or even say about, he aunt didn't believe any of the things Felicia told her, Felicia was once again abandoned to her faith and living the shouldn't have tho endured. This was one of the things I was left with no answer what happened to that evil cause that did so much harm to Felicia? also, did she really end up having a relationship with her father? so many questions

Felicia did what was best for her study study study, becoming someone to finally able to move forward and leave behind her past.

Felicia, I had a hard time writing this review, your story deserves more than what I've written, but I'm speechless to translate how much I appreciate you and your mother through the pages of your story, thank you for sharing what happened and what you went through, thank you for showing us how amazing, strong and resilient was your mom, she definitely deserves a standing ovation for what she endured. I personally don't like rating Memoirs because I feel it is the life of a person and can't be rated.

Felicia, You and Your mother are true heroines to me.

This was short but a very good book I'm super glad I read it and I definitely will recommend it

Thank you, NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group, River Grove Books, for the advanced copy of Spirit of a Hummingbird in exchange for my honest review

I read this memoir in one sitting. I was interested because I grew up in Massachusetts and remember when Chinatown in Boston was considered "dangerous" during the 80's. Felicia writes about her childhood with her mother, a Vietnamese refugee, and her father, who was a gang kingpin. They bounce between Boston and Canada.

This was a very compelling read, and my only wish was that it was longer, and maybe a bit more about her adult life.

Thank you Netgalley and Greenleaf Book Group for the ARC!

Spirit of a Hummingbird is a chilling, cathartic memoir that is unforgettable and engaging, and it should be on everyone's TBR list.


This relatively short—yet impactful—book (just under 200 pages) is told from the perspective of a crime boss’s daughter, who grew up witnessing Boston’s Chinatown underworld and Asian-American gang violence in the 1980-90s. I read this on a whim, unaware the location was somewhere I was very familiar with and not seeing much publicity-wise, but I am thrilled that I did. It may be one of the best memoirs released this year that you have not seen marketed to oblivion. The author’s experiences as a kid on the run, bouncing between Canada and Boston—unaware of the magnitude or meaning of her father’s criminal accomplishments—are worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. The traumatized child-turned-doctor chronicles a riveting, page-turning crime and coming-of-age drama that sheds light on the region’s gang activity that is not Irish or Italian, which is refreshing and enlightening.

The title's significance isn't revealed until the end, but you will get there quickly. Considering the weighty subject, the author maintains a notable sense of impartiality and articulateness, providing a gritty firsthand portrayal of unfathomable abuse. However, the overarching message remains hopeful: a toxic environment doesn't have to dictate or diminish a person’s future or character. Felicia is a stalwart example of overcoming staggering adversity.

Though an anesthesiologist pens it, sleep will remain elusive until you finish reading Spirit of a Hummingbird, and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for providing a free copy for an unbiased review.

-A. H. Nazzareno

Thank you to NetGalley and River Grove Books for sending me this digital copy for review consideration! All opinions are my own.

This book offers a harrowing account of the author’s childhood as the daughter of a gang kingpin. The story of an abusive father alone would be horrible enough, but the fact that he was also a violent criminal who constantly left his family while on jobs, was on the run after an escape from prison, and never sent home enough money to keep the family afloat makes it all the more distressing.

Felicia had to grow up so quickly that I often had to go back and double check how old she was when certain things happened, due to the shocking nature of the events and the way she responded, as victims of trauma and abuse often do, with maturity beyond her years. Unfortunately, it appears she rarely got to be a child.

I read this whole book in one day because it was both short and absorbing. I wish it wasn’t quite so short because the end felt a bit rushed. I am happy to see that the author has made a beautiful life for herself, but there is a very quick conclusion to her relationship with her father. In a matter of pages she decides to give him a chance, takes it back when he acts like a shitlord, and then decides to meet him where he’s at when he apologizes. She then briefly sums up her present relationship with him in the epilogue. After so much lead up to her father’s release, I would have liked to see a little more development once it actually happened.

However, it is hard to critique a book when the author is telling such a personal story. I do believe that, when sharing a vulnerable personal history, one has to respect how the author felt the most comfortable telling it!

I do recommend this book as long as you can stomach reading about some truly awful things. It is good to know that the author overcame so much sorrow and now has the happy family she deserved as a child.

This powerful memoir takes the reader on a journey of the author’s chaotic childhood. The child of two Vietnamese refugees, and a father who is a violent gangster, the author experiences life on the run.

I enjoyed this memoir but wanted more. At points, the author lets the readers in to her coping mechanisms, even as a very young child. It was fascinating to learn what helps children cope with a chaotic environment.

On the other hand, the author focuses intensely on her early childhood years and only touches on her high school, college, and med school years. I wanted to learn more about this time. I also wanted to learn more about how she healed from her childhood as an adult and now mother of 4.

Overall, a fast paced, interesting read that I devoured in 1 sitting but that felt a bit unfinished.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!
Felicia Thai Heaths’ raw and compelling debut takes a deep look into a leader of an Asian mafia , if you will, and his coming of age daughter. What she witnesses during the frequent moves, interactions between her parents and difficulties in school are heartbreaking and confusing for her. Enjoyed this memoir!

This short book was touching and sad yet hopeful. Her story is unique and unfortunate. She overcame a rather tragic childhood and came out on top. She as well as her siblings demonstrate a great deal of inner strength. I hope her story gains more deserved attention. The narrator/ author is an inspirational, strong woman. I would have like the author to have added further details about her life’s journey. She seemed to skip or gloss over certain periods of her life. In addition, I would have liked to learn more about her siblings, mother, and father. The narrator just gives brief descriptions and backstories of each. I am glad that she was able to turn her traumatizing experiences into something positive.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

The premise of this book is instantly engaging and I love how the author approaches her story with such frank honesty. However, for me, that frankness went a bit too far. The narrative lacked emotion and read more of a stark telling of events, rather than an engrossing memoir.