In her recent memoir, Susan shares her experiences growing up in the U.S. as the youngest of 4 Vietnamese children and how her childhood was shaped in the aftermath of her mother’s botched plastic surgery that left them motherless. Susan’s parents fled Vietnam by boat during the turmoil and Susan was the only one of her siblings to be born in the U.S. Her parents started their own business running a nail salon.

But the loss of her mother was so profound that Susan spent much of her life asking questions about what happened but nobody wanted to talk about. This memoir explores Susan’s journey to come to terms with her mother’s unnecessary death, body image pressures, the pressure to have a well paying respectable career and of course, the challenges of being part of an immigrant family.

Thank you to Celadon Books for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

In this memoir, Susan Lieu reflects on her mother’s life. She was an immigrant from Vietnam who ran not one but two successful nail businesses in the USA. But, like many women, she was enthralled with beauty and image, leading her to get a tummy tuck. However, due to an error from the doctor, she passed away due to the procedure. Susan dives into her mother’s past and her relationship with her mother in this informative, wonderfully told novel.

This book had such an outstanding balance. I get about 40% in for some memoirs, and then I’m somewhat bored, but this was not like that. The choice of exploring her mother’s life and her own and mixing them the way she did was flawless. The characters were all vivid, and I felt like I knew them in a way. It can be so challenging looking back on people in your life, especially after they have passed on or when the relationship is a little complex. The author did so with care and curiosity, which I think would leave her mother very proud.

I often learn a lot when I read memoirs, especially if the person has a very different background from me, which Susan does. I especially loved the time spent in Vietnam and seeing the differences between North America and there. And as a warning to anyone interested in reading this one, the description of food is out of this world. Do not read this while hungry; have a snack at the ready!

Overall, I loved seeing the happy and sad pieces of Susan’s life that she was willing to share. It was beautiful to see how she grew up and how her memories grew up with her. If you like memoirs and novels that are very approachable and feel like you’re sitting with a friend, then you need to read The Manicurist’s Daughter!

“The Manicurist's Daughter" by Susan Lieu is a poignant memoir that explores the aftermath of her mother's death during a routine cosmetic procedure. Lieu delves into themes of identity, cultural expectations, and the complexities of family dynamics. Through raw emotion and introspection, she navigates grief and examines the lasting impact of her loss. Lieu's narrative is both heart-wrenching and empowering, offering a profound reflection on love, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit.

The Manicurist’s Daughter, by Susan Lieu, is one of those memoirs that has quickly earned a place in my heart. Although my cultural background is super different from Lieu’s, her deep emotions, her grief, and her quest to fit in within her own family was easy to connect to.

Lieu’s book (and perhaps her whole life) was shaped by the death of her force-of-nature mother, who died at the age of 38 after a botched plastic surgery operation. Lieu’s family was of the mindset that pain is best left unspoken, and this major event that occurred when she was a young kid ended up significantly impacting the rest of her life (including her career, her relationships, and her self-image). Her quest to find acceptance from her family and to better understand who her mother was (and ultimately what led to her death) is heartfelt and moving.

I really appreciated the structure of this memoir. Usually, I like books like this to be told chronologically, but Lieu’s memoir jumps around since pieces of her family history were only told to her as an adult. I felt grateful to get this inside look into an immigrant family’s lives and into the drive that her family had to become successful in the US. But perhaps the element of the novel I felt most impacted by was her descriptions of how food and body image and family were so tied together in her life. The details about the dishes her family members would make for her to eat, and then the simultaneous criticisms they would give her about her weight were heartbreaking but relatable.

Lieu considers herself a performer, and it was her one-woman show that helped inspire her to write this book. However, I hope that Lieu decides to write more books in the future. Her style is insightful and honest, and I gained so much from reading her story.

my fiance's family shares a heritage, a similar story, and the same favorite dishes as this author and her family, so reading about all three was a really lovely way to get to know my future in laws better! this story is packed with emotion, but it felt like sometimes what the author wanted to convey surpassed her writing experience, leaving us with repetitive and showy language.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this e book. The Manicurists Daughter was a poignant memoir and intimate look at the family life of refugees trying to make a better life for themselves in the United States.

I was super excited for this book. I love a memoir! The description and cover were really doing it for me.

This book is essentially the story of the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants and her attempts to understand her family, where she came from, and what caused her mother to get a life-ending tummy tuck. We follow the author through her life as she grapples with memories from childhood and tries to handle the loss of her mother.

I enjoyed how honest this book felt. It really gives the impression that you’re reading a bit of the author’s personal diary. However, that personal feel made the story seem a bit more unpolished and unfocused than I typically enjoy in a memoir. I was looking for a bit more depth into her mother’s plastic surgeries beyond that her family and culture forces unrealistic beauty standards.

I would really like to see the one woman show she has done about her life, but I struggled a bit to see what this book was meaningfully adding at times. Lieu is extremely talented and a great storyteller, this just fell a little flat for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of this book!

This is an intriguing and intimate story about the author’s mother, her life, and legacy, but it also explores the author’s healing journey, her relationships with family members, and her path of self-discovery.

Even though this book delves into serious topics such as unattainable beauty standards and intergenerational trauma, the author skillfully incorporates humor throughout the narrative, creating a well-balanced tone that doesn't detract from her message.

I enjoyed the insights into the author’s daily life, such as family gatherings, running the nail salon, exploring Vietnamese cuisine, and navigating often complicated family dynamics. It was interesting to read about the different ways in which people process grief. However, I think the memoir could be a bit shorter as certain sections felt repetitive, especially toward the latter part.

There’s a lot of emphasis on spirituality and psychic abilities which didn’t resonate with me, but I still found it somewhat interesting to read about.

While I admire the author's determination to learn more about her mother and understand herself through her story, I found her conclusion—that it's best to simply “let it go”— confusing and contradictory to the rest of the story. It felt as though the more negative aspects of the story were not fully processed, and as another reader noted, the author's desire to conclude the novel with an inspirational tone, to me felt like a form of toxic positivity.

Overall, this memoir offers valuable insights into the negative consequences of unrealistic beauty standards and the pressures women face, sadly often from other women in their circles. It’s a powerful story about a woman who is trying to heal while also doing everything in her power to make sure her mother’s story is never forgotten.

The cover design is eye-catching and perfectly captures the essence of the story. I especially like the colors and neon lights effect. It would definitely grab my attention at a bookstore.

Thank you, BookishFirst, the publisher Celadon Books, and author Susan Lieu for the ARC copy! I received a free copy of this book, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a very emotional memoir about a woman whose mother died while getting plastic surgery, and afterwards her family refuses to talk about it. It becomes an obsession almost, to learn more about who her mother was, why she felt she needed the procedure, and to come to terms with her death.

This memoir is SO much more than just the author’s relationship with her mother. It weaves through her family history, her culture, being a daughter of immigrants and the weight of the expectations, her relationship with food and her own body, and how she processes all of this and turns it into art and a way to connect with others going through the same experiences.

While the pacing of this was a little slow, and sometimes tough to read, I really loved how it ended. The sections near the end with her dad had me in tears.

So while it did take me a while to read this one, I’m glad I did, and I’d definitely recommend!

Thank you @celadonbooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

The Manicurist's Daughter is a poignant memoir that dives deep into the grief and resilience of Susan Lieu, the daughter of a Vietnamese refugee. Through her raw vulnerability, Lieu shares her story of coping with the loss of her mother to complications of plastic surgery. Lieu intricately intertwines themes of cultural identity, navigating complex familial dynamics, and embarking on a journey of personal discovery to connect with her mother even after her passing.

Lieu's courage in sharing her story is nothing short of inspiring, and serves as a reminder of the strength of the human spirit.

The Manicurist's Daughter follows Susan Lieu's process of making sense of her mother's sudden death, reckoning with generational trauma, and forging a path in her body and through her art all for herself.

This memoir is poignant, though at times repetitive in the details. I loved the idea behind the format of the book--six sections for the six different tones that 'ma' could be pronounced in and their meanings, but something about the way it flowed did not quite work for me.

Even so, I still enjoyed this memoir as a meditation on grief and what happens when someone becomes so fixated on the past that they fail to see what's right in front of them.

I received a copy from the publisher on NetGalley, but my opinions are my own.

This was a such a beautiful memoir. I loved the journey Susan Lieu took the reader on to find out her family's past. I also loved that her family who were so closed off began to open up to her and see things differently.

Determination thrives. With a tragic turn and much time, memories, questions, and regrets take a toll. Very emotional and inspirational too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this e galley!

The Manicurist’s Daughter tells the true story of the daughter of of Vietnamese refugees growing up in her mother’s nail salon and follows her journey to accept her mother’s death during plastic surgery, but to also accept herself and her place in her family.

This was a very interesting memoir, told with humor and sadness. There were many stories in this book that had me riveted. I loved learning about Lieu’s family members, her travels, and her relationships. This memoir will resonate with anyone who has experienced complicated family bonds.

I really enjoyed this book!

Wow. What a beautiful memoir. It beautifully demonstrates a lot of complex and raw feelings that people experience in life. The way she wrote about grief was incredibly healing! I (somewhat) recently lost my father and grandfather and found this book to be incredibly honest, yet insightful! I will now see the world through a different lens.

Another great memoir in which I learn something! This time, it’s Vietnamese culture. This is a heartbreaking story in which the author loses her mother at a young age (both the author and her mother) following complications from plastic surgery. We learn so much about the author’s mother: how determined she was to escape Vietnam in the 80s, how business savvy she was at establishing successful nail salons, and also how insecure and unhappy she was with her physical appearance. This insecurity seemed to be exacerbated by how her Vietnamese relatives constantly criticized her appearance, which was presented as a cultural thing. We watch the author process her mother’s death over the next 20 years, eventually channeling her thoughts, feelings, and questions into a one woman show. Her mother’s loss impacts her in so many ways and she struggles to find a place where she fits in this new world feeling unsupported by her family. A really captivating memoir. Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

Although I enjoyed this book, I felt it to be a bit redundant. Maybe I'm reading too many books about Asian women who have troubled relationships with their mothers and who can't seem to "find themselves." Also, when Susan traveled to Vietnam to find members of her family, I had hoped to read more about her time there. All in all, an entertaining read about a Vietnamese family and a mother who is the focus of the family.

I was very fortunate to receive an advanced reader copy from NetGalley but all thoughts are unbiased and my own!

My goodness I’m SO glad I picked this up. I honestly just liked the cover and that’s what drew me to the book, but the content?!? It’s an amazing story. The writer is so vulnerable and hits so many different topics like generational trauma, mental illness, and even her experiences with a cult. Her experiences and how they all shape and mold the woman she becomes is incredible. Also the way she tackles identity and grief… you just have to read it!

It’s so beautifully written, loved the stories of her family and heritage and reflections of how she grew up. I also loved when she starts her investigating into her mother after her death. I found it very interesting looking at what she discovered about her mother which molded in who she is now. Such a great memoir.

This memoir will most likely be in my top ten memoirs of the year. I loved learning about the author's Vietnamese family and culture. Even though heavy topics were mentioned, Susan Lieu really knew how to use humor to balance it out. Thank you for the opportunity to read this e-galley.

THE MANICURIST DAUGHTER
Susan Lieu

I recently read a memorable and insightful memoir. Susan Lieu writes it and it’s about the death of her mother and how she recovered and is still recovering in the aftermath.

Susan’s mom died when Susan was at the tender age of eleven from a plastic surgery operation. The way her mother died is wrapped up in her death and her memory. Susan is honest both with us and most importantly herself. She discusses how her mother’s death impacted her, how her family responded to that death, and what she has learned from all of it.

I enjoyed the honesty, frankness, and compassion I found within the pages of THE MANICURIST DAUGHTER. I think it will help a lot of people and I highly recommend it!

She had been looking for parts of her mother her entire life only one day to find her in the deep recesses of herself. In the folds of her body, in the chasms of her self-doubt, in the ways she loved herself and all the ways she did not.

When Susan speaks of her mother you can feel the loss, the absence, the lifetime of never going to happen. It’s a loss she may never recover from, only move on from. It’s a beautiful tribute to Susan’s mother and every other mother living or dead.

THE MANICURIST DAUGHTER is available where books are sold and is one of my favorite nonfiction pieces of this year so far.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Celadon Books, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies and the opportunity to provide feedback!

THE MANICURIST DAUGHTER…⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐