‘This American Ex-Wife,’ ‘Everywhere the Undrowned’ and ‘The Manicurist’s Daughter’ delve into the challenges of knowing oneself and one’s family
What’s clear from the very first page of Lyz Lenz’s new book is that her ex-husband is a real jerk: leaving garbage to fester on the floor, taking Lenz’s feminist mugs and hiding them in the basement, telling her she should get pregnant with baby No. 3 and write fiction to be “less stressed out.” Oh, and he voted for Donald Trump. Lenz acknowledges that getting married young and being raised in an evangelical community didn’t help her self-actualization skills.
But “This American Ex-Wife” is bigger than Lenz’s horrific marriage. Lenz is a journalist; her previous books, “God Land” and “Belabored,” explored the religious right in middle America and the rights of pregnant people. In her latest, she sets out to prove, using anecdotal evidence and hard statistics, that marriage is an oppressive tool determined to squeeze the life out of any woman it entraps.
“It wasn’t until I went to college that I learned words like ‘capitalism,’ ‘exploitation,’ and ‘intergenerational trauma,’” Lieu recalls. Her parents were from Chinese families that had fled persecution into Vietnam, and from there to America. Lieu was the first child born in the United States, so her mother decided to give her an American name. It was also the name of the first nail salon her parents opened, “Susan’s Nails,” over which her mother presided like a general.
“What was she like?” Lieu said in the second iteration of her one-woman show. “No,” her director instructed, “say it like you’re in Viet Nam and you’re shouting across the ocean to America.” Lieu’s foray into theater proved to be a healing balm, not only for her but for her siblings and father as well. “As I inhabited their words, their gestures, their voices, my perception of them began to change,” Lieu writes. “My energy toward them shifted, and so did their communication with me.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
American nearing 600 days in Taliban captivity as wife pleads with Biden officials for helpAnna Corbett, wife of American Ryan Corbett who is being held hostage by the Taliban, shared details from her recent phone conversation with him that signaled he is losing hope.
Read more »
AMERICAN VALUES: What small town America is saying about the American Dream, 'getting too hard'People in the small town of Noel, Missouri, weighed in on the status of the American Dream today, with some saying it still exists while others say it is long gone.
Read more »
Astronaut Selection ProgramAs NASA prepares to launch American astronauts this year on American rockets from American soil to the International Space Station – with an eye toward the M...
Read more »
Fees, Fees Everywhere: Tipping in Denver Is Changing, and Some Diners Aren't HappyThree restaurant owners break down their take on fees, tipping and transparency.
Read more »
Anne Hathaway's Belt Necklace Is About to Be Everywhere This SpringAnne Hathaway wore a belt necklace to a basketball game, proving sometimes form is more important than function.
Read more »
Food prices will climb everywhere as temperatures rise due to climate changeClimate change, and specifically rising temperatures, may cause food prices to increase by 3.2% per year, according to a new study by researchers in Germany. As climate change continues to worsen, this price inflation will mean more and more people around the world don't have a varied and healthy diet, or simply don't have enough food.
Read more »