Phoenix Girl: A Memoir

After Michelle emigrates to the U.S. from the tight-knit ethnic Chinese enclave in Incheon, South Korea, she must adapt quickly to survive. With a dominant, impulsive father in charge-who protects the family from everyone but himself-and a mother who never finds her power, Michelle craves safety and security.

Like tumbleweeds, Michelle and her family bump across the country in a Ford Dixie van before settling in Phoenix, Arizona. Working at their family-owned Chinese takeout restaurant by age 12, Michelle drowns in pressures beyond her age.

Ultimately, Michelle finds love, not only the romantic kind, but an enduring self-love, which allows her to heal, to never give up, and to thrive while successfully managing what later becomes a bipolar 1 diagnosis.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Fifth Avenue Press
Published: 05/06/2025
ISBN: 9781956697339
Pages: 324
Weight: 0.91lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.73d