When I attempted to open up to one white friend about what had happened that summer, he said, “But your dad threw you such a nice engagement party. How could he be abusive?” An Indian American friend invoked the “tiger parent” stereotype, saying, “Come on, he’s just strict. What Indian dad isn’t?” A close Indian family friend told me, “But your dad’s such a cool guy. How can you just stop talking to him? You should involve him more.” Again and again, I was told that what I called mistreatment was a misinterpretation of the lengths to which my father had gone to ensure that I succeeded. When I
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