This is a beautiful memoir written by the youngest daughter (Susan) of a Vietnamese family. At the age of 11 she tragically lost her mother to botched plastic surgery. Sadly, she had a fight with her mother the morning of the surgery and she was never really able to come to terms with that.

Through much of the book Susan yearns to learn more about the mother that she never really knew. More often than not she found herself frustrated by her family members and their reluctance to share anything about the topic.

Trips to Vietnam, learning of a malpractice case, digging deeper into her parents fleeing Vietnam… Susan slowly starts to learn more about exactly who her mother was.

The Vietnamese culture, her parents being immigrants, her mother owning nail salons, body image and food were big themes in the book.

It was definitely an emotionally raw read that was full of healing for not only Susan but the family as a whole.

Thank you Celadon Books and Net Galley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

#celadonbooks
#netgalley
#susanlieu

When we feel, we heal

I think it’s an incredibly brave thing to write a memoir and share your triumphs and struggles with the world. I really got into memoirs last year and find that I am always drawn to the ones that teach me things and showcase vulnerability, strength, and hope. Susan Lieu’s might be up there as one of my favorites.

I think a lot of the time books that end up being my favorite are ones that I think about long after I have finished and I want to talk about and process with everyone I see including strangers.

This book educated me. It made me laugh. It made me cry. I’ll never not think of this book when I go to get my nails done. This story made me think of my mom, my family, how I treat my body and think about myself. It made me reflect on my grief. It made me reflect on how thankful and lucky k am to have what I have. I am sad that it’s over. Susan’s narration was exceptional. I loved the way she told her story. I loved her bravery and her heart and the way I felt while listening to her story. I’m just in awe and really recommend you read this one.

Thank you Susan. I love your story so much.

5 ⭐️

Thank you @macmillian.audio for the early listening copy.

One of the best memoirs I have *ever* read, and I highly recommend it as an audiobook! The author’s voice is so distinctive and easy to attend to. The raw emotion in her voice at various points is so powerful, and the voices she does for the members of her family and Uncle #9 are amazing. I also just loved that we get to hear her speak Vietnamese! Her story is about so many things - growing up the youngest, only American-born child of Vietnamese refugees; her parents’ brave escape from communist-controlled Vietnam to a refugee camp in Malaysia and eventually to the Bay Area with two toddlers, her brothers, and then a third child born in the refugee camp, her sister, in the early 80s; her mother’s determination to open her own business and sponsor the rest of her relatives to immigrate to the US; her mother’s tragic death following a tummy tuck at age 38 in San Francisco - so hard to process how this dynamo in a woman could be brought down by a bad surgeon and negative body image!; her family’s intergenerational trauma and their collective refusal to discuss it; her journey to process her grief and figure out what happened to her mom.

My favorite parts - very hard to choose but I so related to Susan on a hike with her husband as someone who also married an outdoorsy man. I loved when she stood up to her aunt’s body shaming, sooo empowering. I also totally relate to having family members calling me fat, and inheriting my older relatives’ internalized body image challenges. I loved her vivid descriptions of so many foods. I loved her vulnerability and came to love all her siblings, parents, and aunts through her loving eyes.

This quote hit me hard - “All I wanted was to feel supported. All I felt was wrong.” Susan seems like the kind of lady I would want to be friends with, an incredibly smart, resilient, woman who, like me, has had being an “emotional” person thrown in her face by the people she trusted most. Truly this book was so powerful and is one I will be recommending to everyone.

I listened to the audiobook of this since the author, Susan Lieu, narrates it herself, and I absolutely can’t pass up those opportunities! The fact that she is a wonderful narrator is just icing on this metaphorical cake. I loved listening to her and it was especially nice to hear her deliver punchlines, hear her sarcasm, and just feel the emotions coming through her writing.

This memoir was a unique one for me to read. Reading about how Susan and her family would try channeling their family’s matriarch- who was lost during a routine cosmetic surgical procedure when Susan was only 11- was so interesting, as was learning all the spiritual beliefs she and her Vietnamese family hold. I also felt so sorry for this young girl, and just wanted to hold her and give her the comfort that poor child desperately needed. Despite all of Susan’s hardships, though, she becomes an amazing, strong woman, who stands up to her family’s outdated ideals of beauty (an ideal which ultimately lead to her mother’s passing).

This memoir was real, honest, and not afraid to pull the punches. It takes courage for someone to write out their whole life story especially when it might not paint their family (both alive and deceased) in the best light. But that’s what makes this book so beautiful.

Thanks NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and ALC of this book!

There's a special feeling when you pick up a book at the exact right moment in your life, and this was one of those times for me. In Susan Lieu's memoir, she tells the story of her life and the way it was shaped by her mother's death, who died tragically after getting plastic surgery. Lieu was 10 when she died, and her death became a taboo subject for her large family of Vietnamese immigrants. I lost my mother when I was 7, and there was just so much I related to as the daughter of an immigrant and a child who never got to know my mother. There's so much about grief that is isolating and hard to wrap your head around as a kid, and I think Lieu did such a wonderful job in describing that. As she got older, her grief stayed and grew with her until it became too big for her to ignore. Reading about her pivot to becoming a performance artist and exploring her mother's life and death, as well as confronting her family members in the process, was a study in empathy and steps we have to take to move on. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time. Thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the audio arc!

This book made me hungry. It was a very impactful and emotional story about growth, healing and acceptance. It made me feel all the emotions. I love that the author was the narrator (sometimes that doesn’t work to well) since it was her story being told she really conveyed the emotion in her voice. It was a great story and performance. Would definitely recommend.

Susan Lieu is the self-proclaimed keeper of her family's story--the one who has tasked herself with preserving the memories of her siblings, her father, and in particular, her mother who passed away during cosmetic surgery due to medical malpractice when Susan was only 11 years old. The telling of this story proves to be a lofty task, as Susan runs into many roadblocks along the way, including reluctant family members who would prefer not to talk about any of it, in addition to facing her own trauma.

While there were many elements of this story that I found to be incredibly compelling, overall I found the memoir to be uneven, specifically when it came to pacing and tone. There were times when the author would spend whole paragraphs detailing a single meal, but then she would blow right past an event that seemed to me (as a reader) like it would hold much more significance. Of course, who am I to know what an author finds significant in her own story?

Much of the story was heavy. It felt as though this book was a form of therapy for Susan, as she was worked through the loss of her mother, as well as toxicity within her family. Often times, though, Susan tried to inject moments of humor into her story. Many of these fell flat for me, either seeming overly cynical or dismissive. I would have loved to see Susan explore some of her themes a little more deeply: the generational body shaming within her family that plagued her well into adulthood (and may have contributed to her mother's decision to have surgery), her parents' early struggles as Vietnamese refugees and the impact this had on the way they raised her and her siblings, or her decision to use performance art as a way to heal. These were some of the strongest points in the book that were ultimately overshadowed by vignettes that felt less connected to her story.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced listener copy.

I really, really appreciated The Manicurist's Daughter by Susan Lieu. I read it on the tails of reading Crying in H Mart, and so appreciated being able to compare both writer's highly complicated relationships with their mother as they navigate affection, physical perfection, and what is a "worthwhile" life's path.

I am particularly grateful to have been granted access to the audio arc of this book from NetGalley and MacMillan audio. As a person who's had little exposure to Vietnamese, listening to Susan Lieu narrate brought this book to life in an incredibly powerful way.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced audio book!
This was such an interesting book. I wasn't sure, at first, what the meaning of the title was, but as Lieu got further into telling her story I could see how all the threads wove together. Listening to the book--with her as the narrator--also added so much to understanding, since I could hear her speaking Vietnamese and the tone that she and her relatives would use. I really enjoyed this.

Susan Lieu has written a powerful memoir about searching for answers to her mother’s death. When Susan’s mother was in her thirties, she decides to get plastic surgery and dies from a botched tummy tuck. Susan was only eleven and spends decades trying to get information.. Susan’s family will not discuss her mother or what happened and tell Susan to just move on and let it be. Her parents tried five times to escape Vietnam before managing to secure seats on a boat where they survive the perilous journey.. Her mother was an entrepreneur who builds up two successful nail salons, where Susan has to work on the weekends from a young age. Her Ma was the true matriarch of the family and the center of Susan’s universe. She made all the rules and Susan was expected to obey. But Ma was devoted to the family, working seven days each week, leaving little time for herself. Why would her mother want to change her appearance? Why is the doctor allowed to continue to practice even after being sanctioned?

This memoir is beautifully written. It is heartbreaking, although funny in places, as Susan travels all over, including back to Vietnam, searching for answers. It was brutally honest in discussing how Susan’s own background led her to make some of the choices she did. It talks about the challenges that first generation immigrants face, but also the expectations for their children. Susan’s family is perpetually disappointed with her for not going into the corporate world and having what they consider a successful career. She is open about her eating challenges when the extended family constantly tells her she is fat. She comes to realize her relationship to food was really about her relationship to her family and that many memories are intertwined with food. I loved the way she wove in her culture throughout the book and provided wonderful descriptions of all the different Vietnamese dishes her family made for her. Through her journey Susan unearths many secrets and comes to discover who her mother was, and in turn she rebuilds her relationship with her siblings and her father, which allows her to finally let go and move on.

I listened to the audiobook, which was read by the author., which I would highly recommend. Hearing Susan read her own words is moving. The book contains a lot of Vietnamese so it was good to be able to hear how the words were pronounced. In the book, Susan describes the many meanings of the word Ma, based on how it is said. I’m not sure I would have understood the differences without hearing them spoken. I appreciate that she actually read the acknowledgements, which most audiobooks don’t include.

This was truly a must read memoir that held my interest to the very end. I hope Susan Lieu continues writing and/or performing so we can continue to hear from this talented author.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook in advance in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @celadonbooks @netgalley @macmillan.audio for a copy of this book. If you are a fan of crying in Hmart, this one is for you. This was a great memoir about Susan who grows up in San Francisco from an immigrant Vietnamese family. Her mother passes away from botched plastic surgery and her quest for answers. I enjoyed the stories about her growing up with her extended family and s shared a lot similar experiences. I really enjoyed seeing her relationship with her dad and their journey to connect. The narrator did a phenomenal job with the voices and bringing everyone to life.

4.5⭐️

The Manicurist’s Daughter is a fascinating and moving memoir of grief, family, and the search for truth. I was held in thrall from the first page to the last, as Susan explored what drove her mother, from her determined struggle to make it America in pursuit of a better life, to the eternal quest for beauty that proved her downfall. The effects rippled through Susan’s own life, and I felt honored to have her share this deeply personal story.

Author Susan Lieu did an excellent job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Susan Lieu, Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley and for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Macmillan Audio ALC
This memoir was so emotionally raw and open. The storytelling was excellent. Each part flowed so wonderfully to show the the bigger picture of how Lieu struggled with losing her mother when she was a pre-teen. In her Vietnamese family, there was no discussion of grief or her mother, so this book expertly explored the impact of this on her entire life. I appreciated her vulnerability and openness. I could not imagine the bravery it took to tell this story, and I am so glad that she did. One of the best memoirs I've read.

This was a beautiful, and at times heartbreaking, memoir. It is centrally about the death of her mother, she died at 38 years old from cosmetic procedures when Susan Lieu was 11. She had a very hard time, her grief festered in many ways because she could not the find comfort she was desperately seeking from her family, in part due to the Vietnamese culture. She tells us how grief had lead her to finding acceptance in people who used her vulnerability (cult), attempting revenge from the plastic surgeon who operated on her mom, seeking signs of her mother’s presence and of her mother’s stories left unspoken by family members. In the end, she finds peace and her life is moving forward, not stuck in the past no longer.

I felt the pacing was good, a healthy balance between the specifics of her own personal story and finding ways for the reader to connect with her in her journey. There is quite a lot of spirituality, soul searching and finding connections to her mom in moments, in psychics, spirit channelers etc - so I will say if you are really closed off against that stuff then maybe this book might not be for you.

I enjoyed experiencing this story via the audiobook format as I could then hear the Vietnamese being spoken. Early on in the book you learn that there are many different tones for “Ma”, and each give “Ma” it’s own meaning. I learned something new! Speaking of Ma, when it got to her Ma’s story it was great to understand who her mother was as a person, as I’m sure that was what Susan Lieu was looking for all this time. It is amazing what a mother will do for her family. I’m glad she also put in some details that her father had shared about himself, as he was also a key person in this story.

Susan Lieu is a wonderful storyteller, she is very talented - she has gained a new fan. It was great to hear her story by her own voice. I felt the emotion behind her words: of the grief, the sadness, the confusion, the anger, the struggles she had faced in her life, her longing for acceptance and self-love, internal peace. I could hear her sadness, it was so raw and realistic, I couldn’t help but feel her in those moments. She managed to give every person in her life their own unique voice as well. I’m really glad to hear that the arts helped connect her to her mother, that she found the stories she was looking for, and that she connected with her siblings once again. It was great to hear of the acceptance of her relationship with her father where they could find understanding. I was happy to hear that even though he couldn’t manage to physically be there to support her performances, he was there in spirit and was proud of her, kept the physical evidence of them via newspaper clippings, providing stories about him when he was younger etc. I am so glad she found the self confidence within her to stand up for herself regarding medical care and self image, and that she is paving the way for her children to accept themselves and find comfort in their bodies.

I think everyone can connect with Susan Lieu in some capacity with this book. She admits as such too - that in her acting performances (based upon her life) she had found connection in others, many of which say they can relate to the performance, her experiences. Whether it’s the family dynamics, losing someone/losing someone too soon, the medical malpractice, the grief, the struggle with being a deeply empathetic person, the struggle with self identity etc, there is something there that can connect you with this book on such a humanizing level.

Thank you Macmillan Audio (Celadon Books) & Netgalley for the ALC!

After escaping Vietnam with her young family for the American Dream and establishing a successful nail salon in California, Susan Lieu’s mother tragically died after a botched cosmetic operation. The Manicurist’s Daughter is Susan Lieu’s vulnerable exploration into her complicated relationship with her mother, her search for understanding of what happened that fateful day, and her reflection on how her family has grown (both together and apart) since her mother passed away.

Lieu jumps back and forth through time to connect stories from her youth to her deep dive to learn more about her mother. This jumping timeline along with the descriptions of Susan’s one-woman play resulted in some repetition, but overall the book flowed nicely. Lieu really lays everything out there when it comes to her relationships with family members, and I appreciated how nothing was sugarcoated - for better or worse. This was both heartwrenching and heartwarming at the same time, and was a very interesting glimpse into Susan’s Vietnamese-American experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing this ALC!

I don't normally go for memoir but I'm happy I stumbled on this title.

First off, Susan Lieu starts with her life's hook-- her mom dies from a botched tummy tuck. While readers are captured with the morbid curiosity of Lieu's mothers death..because yes we are curious, she engages throughout her whole story. Culture, family, grief, acceptance, and confronting the truth are the main themes in this title.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lieu's ability to show the reader her trauma, her childhood, her family, where she came. Often, I will read a memoir where it feels like the author is telling and asking reader's for sympathy. I enjoyed her ability to allow her writing to do the work.

While I loved her story, and I thought the audio only elevated the Vietnamese conversations, I didn't like Susan Lieu's reading. I thought it was overacted at times. While that being said there is something special having the author read the tender parts of her story which did touch my heart more.

I wouldn't have picked this book up had it not been for NetGalley and I am excited to recommend this well-crafted, well-structured memoir to readers in our store.

Thank you NetGalley, the author, and Macmillan Audio for providing reader's with this title.

Susan Lieu was the first in her family to be born in America- her older siblings were all born in Vietnam, and her parents escaped as refugees in the 1980’s. Susan grew up helping out in the two nail salons that her hard-working mother opened, and she spent her days there hanging out with her aunties and other family members that her mother helped sponsor and bring over. But when Susan was 11 years old, her world was turned upside down when her mother died from a tummy tuck gone wrong. No one would talk about what happened, and Susan was left with a gaping hole left by her mother and a distant and fractured family.

This book chronicles Susan’s journey into adulthood and married life as she struggled to find meaning and the truth of what happened to her mother. “Sifting through depositions, tracking down the surgeon’s family, and enlisting the help of spirit channellers, Susan uncovers the painful truth of her mother, herself, and the impossible ideal of beauty”. It’s a book about identity, grief and healing. I admired her resiliency and transparency as she told her story. I hope the process of writing this book brings further healing and closure.

**If you can - I Recommend the Audiobook as she narrates it herself and you really get more depth of the story through her narration

This is such a heartbreaking story in my opinion. It does shed light on another culture that I don’t know much about- how they live and grieve and find a way forward. I think it’s a good way to learn about another culture through the experiences of someone who lived it.

Thank you for the ARC for my honest review.

3+ stars rounded up!

“I had come to a point where the need for answers overcame the need to belong.”

It will take some time to process all the elements of this memoir. At times it felt very disjointed and frenetic, but maybe that’s the whole point of the story. That the author’s life within a Vietnamese immigrant family was exactly that: processing unimaginable loss while bouncing back and forth to find answers. And all the while dealing with expectations of ancestors and day to day discrimination.

I was particularly fascinated with the resolve of Lieu’s mother, who finally succeeded after many attempts, to flee communism in search of opportunity for her family. This made her tragic death in the wake of a botched plastic surgery all the more heartbreaking. The overlap of two very timely issues, body positivity and grief may surprise readers, but made perfect sense to me. Both subjects are shared by multiple cultures yet processed quite differently.

Lieu’s narration of her story reflects the timing and humor of her stand up shows, and I was happy she chose to tell her own story, in her own voice.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Macmillan Audio for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Manicurist’s Daughter by Susan Lieu (memoir)
Overall Grade: A
Narration and Writing: A
Content and Depth of Story: A
Best Aspect: If you enjoyed Crying in H Mart you will love this even more. Raw and real and a very enjoyed memoir on audio.
Worst Aspect: It wasn’t long enough and how sad I still am that the world and how much body shaming there is.