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They called us exceptional : and other lies that raised us / Prachi Gupta.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Crown, [2023]Edition: First editionDescription: viii, 273 pages ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780593442982
  • 0593442989
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Dawn -- Color-blocked -- Mismatched expectations -- Origins obscured -- Me, me who me -- Suburban camouflage -- Rise, spirit -- Good girls don't have bodies -- Rebellion -- Shrink and expand -- Boyfriends -- Homecoming -- Discovering aliens -- Jekyll and Hyde -- Numb -- New beginnings -- One-way street -- Broken hearts -- Terminator of the male ego -- Parts unearthed -- Remembering -- Home is a ghost -- Wanting it all -- Choosing myself -- Welcome you to the Prachi-Prach -- 5'10'' -- The truth -- When the earth splits open.
Summary: "An Indian American daughter reveals how the dangerous model minority myth fractured her family in this searing, brave memoir. How do we understand ourselves when the story about who we are supposed to be is stronger than our sense of self? What do we stand to gain-and lose-by taking control of our narrative? These questions propel Prachi Gupta's heartfelt memoir, and can feel particularly fraught for many immigrants and their children who live under immense pressure to belong in America. Family defined the cultural identity of Prachi and her brother, Yush, connecting them to a larger Indian American community amid white suburbia. But their belonging was predicated on a powerful myth: that Asian Americans, and Indian Americans in particular, have perfected the alchemy of middle-class life, raising tight-knit, high-achieving families that are immune to hardship. Molding oneself to fit this image often comes at a steep, but hidden, cost. In They Called Us Exceptional, Gupta articulates the dissonance, shame, and isolation of being upheld as an American success story while privately navigating traumas invisible to the outside world. Gupta addresses her mother throughout the book, weaving a deeply vulnerable personal narrative with history, postcolonial theory, and research on mental health to show how she slowly made sense of her reality and freed herself from the pervasive, reductive myth that had once defined her. But tragically, the act that liberated Gupta was also the act that distanced her from those she loved most. By charting her family's slow unraveling and her determination to break the cycle, Gupta shows how traditional notions of success keep us disconnected from ourselves and one another-and passionately argues why we must orient ourselves toward compassion over belonging"-- Provided by publisher.
List(s) this item appears in: Women's History Month (Adults)
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Shelving location Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Biography Adult Display - Second Floor GUPTA, P. G977 Immigrant Heritage Month - June 2024 In transit from Northport Library to Main Library since 06/29/2024 33111011316409
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"In this vulnerable and courageous memoir, Prachi Gupta takes the myth of the exceptional Indian American family to task."- The Washington Post

"I read it in one sitting. Wow. It aims right at the tender spot where racism, sexism, and family dynamics collide, and somehow manages to be both searingly honest and deeply compassionate."-Celeste Ng, New York Times bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere

A SHE READS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR . ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE SEASON- The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Bustle

How do we understand ourselves when the story about who we are supposed to be is stronger than our sense of self? What do we stand to gain-and lose-by taking control of our narrative?

Family defined the cultural identity of Prachi and her brother, Yush, connecting them to a larger Indian American community amid white suburbia. But their belonging was predicated on a powerful myth- the idea that Asian Americans, and Indian Americans in particular, have perfected the alchemy of middle-class life, raising tight-knit, high-achieving families that are immune to hardship. Molding oneself to fit this image often comes at a steep, but hidden, cost. In They Called Us Exceptional , Gupta articulates the dissonance, shame, and isolation of being upheld as an American success story while privately navigating traumas the world says do not exist.

Gupta addresses her story to her mother, braiding a deeply vulnerable personal narrative with history, postcolonial theory, and research on mental health to show how she slowly made sense of her reality and freed herself from the pervasive, reductive myth that had once defined her. But tragically, the act that liberated Gupta was also the act that distanced her from those she loved most. By charting her family's slow unraveling, and her determination to break the cycle, Gupta shows how traditional notions of success keep us disconnected from ourselves and one another-and passionately argues why we must orient ourselves toward compassion over belonging.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-273).

Dawn -- Color-blocked -- Mismatched expectations -- Origins obscured -- Me, me who me -- Suburban camouflage -- Rise, spirit -- Good girls don't have bodies -- Rebellion -- Shrink and expand -- Boyfriends -- Homecoming -- Discovering aliens -- Jekyll and Hyde -- Numb -- New beginnings -- One-way street -- Broken hearts -- Terminator of the male ego -- Parts unearthed -- Remembering -- Home is a ghost -- Wanting it all -- Choosing myself -- Welcome you to the Prachi-Prach -- 5'10'' -- The truth -- When the earth splits open.

"An Indian American daughter reveals how the dangerous model minority myth fractured her family in this searing, brave memoir. How do we understand ourselves when the story about who we are supposed to be is stronger than our sense of self? What do we stand to gain-and lose-by taking control of our narrative? These questions propel Prachi Gupta's heartfelt memoir, and can feel particularly fraught for many immigrants and their children who live under immense pressure to belong in America. Family defined the cultural identity of Prachi and her brother, Yush, connecting them to a larger Indian American community amid white suburbia. But their belonging was predicated on a powerful myth: that Asian Americans, and Indian Americans in particular, have perfected the alchemy of middle-class life, raising tight-knit, high-achieving families that are immune to hardship. Molding oneself to fit this image often comes at a steep, but hidden, cost. In They Called Us Exceptional, Gupta articulates the dissonance, shame, and isolation of being upheld as an American success story while privately navigating traumas invisible to the outside world. Gupta addresses her mother throughout the book, weaving a deeply vulnerable personal narrative with history, postcolonial theory, and research on mental health to show how she slowly made sense of her reality and freed herself from the pervasive, reductive myth that had once defined her. But tragically, the act that liberated Gupta was also the act that distanced her from those she loved most. By charting her family's slow unraveling and her determination to break the cycle, Gupta shows how traditional notions of success keep us disconnected from ourselves and one another-and passionately argues why we must orient ourselves toward compassion over belonging"-- Provided by publisher.

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