A Review of Maya Shanbhag Lang’s What We Carry (The Dial Press, 2020)
Posted by:
![[personal profile]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1491408111i/22407843.png)
ccape
Written by Stephen Hong Sohn
Edited by Corinna Cape
*reviewer’s note: In my aim to cover as much ground and texts as I can, I’m focusing on shorter lightning reviews that get to the gist of my reading experience! As Asian American literature has boomed, my time to read this exponentially growing archive has only diminished. I will do my best, as always!
In this lightning review, I am here to wax rhapsodic about Maya Shanbhag Lang’s What We Carry (The Dial Press, 2020)! We’ll let the official marketing description get us started, as always: “Maya Shanbhag Lang grew up idolizing her brilliant mother, an accomplished physician who immigrated to the United States from India and completed her residency all while raising her children and keeping a traditional Indian home. Maya’s mother had always been a source of support—until Maya became a mother herself. Then the parent who had once been so capable and attentive became suddenly and inexplicably unavailable. Struggling to understand this abrupt change while raising her own young child, Maya searches for answers and soon learns that her mother is living with Alzheimer’s. Unable to remember or keep track of the stories she once told her daughter—stories about her life in India, why she immigrated, and her experience of motherhood—Maya’s mother divulges secrets about her past that force Maya to reexamine their relationship. It becomes clear that Maya never really knew her mother, despite their close bond. Absorbing, moving, and raw, What We Carry is a memoir about mothers and daughters, lies and truths, receiving and giving care, and how we cannot grow up until we fully understand the people who raised us. It is a beautiful examination of the weight we shoulder as women and an exploration of how to finally set our burdens down.”
One of the most compelling aspects of Lang’s memoir is the way in which Lang is pushed to move past the illusions that parents can generate, sometimes to protect their own children. This aspect of what makes this memoir both so productive and heartbreaking at the same time. The myth that Lang’s mother creates of herself is the very one that Lang must deconstruct in order for both of them to come to grips with each other’s lives. Of course, this process is further complicated by the Alzheimer’s diagnosis that Lang’s mother receives. The other element that I absolutely reveled in was the meticulous detail with which Lang depicts the harrowing, yet intimate process of care work. As the conditions of Lang’s mother worsens, Lang and her husband (along with their young child) decide to take her in to keep an eye on her. This period is both one in which they can occasionally cement their bonds as family, but Alzheimer’s continually comes to undermine any lasting sense of stability. Eventually, Lang’s mother must be put into a long-term nursing care facility. An unflinching account of care work anchored by Lang’s stellar prose and keen insights.
Buy the Book Here
comments
ccape
Written by Stephen Hong Sohn
Edited by Corinna Cape
*reviewer’s note: In my aim to cover as much ground and texts as I can, I’m focusing on shorter lightning reviews that get to the gist of my reading experience! As Asian American literature has boomed, my time to read this exponentially growing archive has only diminished. I will do my best, as always!
In this lightning review, I am here to wax rhapsodic about Maya Shanbhag Lang’s What We Carry (The Dial Press, 2020)! We’ll let the official marketing description get us started, as always: “Maya Shanbhag Lang grew up idolizing her brilliant mother, an accomplished physician who immigrated to the United States from India and completed her residency all while raising her children and keeping a traditional Indian home. Maya’s mother had always been a source of support—until Maya became a mother herself. Then the parent who had once been so capable and attentive became suddenly and inexplicably unavailable. Struggling to understand this abrupt change while raising her own young child, Maya searches for answers and soon learns that her mother is living with Alzheimer’s. Unable to remember or keep track of the stories she once told her daughter—stories about her life in India, why she immigrated, and her experience of motherhood—Maya’s mother divulges secrets about her past that force Maya to reexamine their relationship. It becomes clear that Maya never really knew her mother, despite their close bond. Absorbing, moving, and raw, What We Carry is a memoir about mothers and daughters, lies and truths, receiving and giving care, and how we cannot grow up until we fully understand the people who raised us. It is a beautiful examination of the weight we shoulder as women and an exploration of how to finally set our burdens down.”
One of the most compelling aspects of Lang’s memoir is the way in which Lang is pushed to move past the illusions that parents can generate, sometimes to protect their own children. This aspect of what makes this memoir both so productive and heartbreaking at the same time. The myth that Lang’s mother creates of herself is the very one that Lang must deconstruct in order for both of them to come to grips with each other’s lives. Of course, this process is further complicated by the Alzheimer’s diagnosis that Lang’s mother receives. The other element that I absolutely reveled in was the meticulous detail with which Lang depicts the harrowing, yet intimate process of care work. As the conditions of Lang’s mother worsens, Lang and her husband (along with their young child) decide to take her in to keep an eye on her. This period is both one in which they can occasionally cement their bonds as family, but Alzheimer’s continually comes to undermine any lasting sense of stability. Eventually, Lang’s mother must be put into a long-term nursing care facility. An unflinching account of care work anchored by Lang’s stellar prose and keen insights.
Buy the Book Here
comments
No comments have been added yet.
