The Immigrant Stories That Shape You (Even If No One Told Them)
Featured Guest: Jamie Jo Hoang, Author
Website: https://www.heyjamie.com
Instagram: @heyjamiereads
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Millennial Parents: Raising Bilingual Kids Without Pressure
What if you could get some closure, some healing from your parent’s past? Even if they don’t tell you?
That’s what reading Jaime Jo Hoang’s books (My Mother the Mermaid Chaser and My Father the Panda Killer) did for me.
Author Jamie Jo Hoang joins me for a really thoughtful conversation about identity, family, generational trauma, boundaries, and what it can look like to approach our parents and ourselves with more compassion.
This conversation touches on the unspoken parts of growing up in an immigrant family, why some stories feel hard to face, and how we can start to create a different type of understanding and relationship.
In This Conversation, We Talk About:
Growing up with family histories that were never fully explained
Why stories can become powerful conversation starters across generations
The complexity of boundaries in immigrant families
What it means to hold compassion without dismissing your own experience
Identity, healing, sibling relationships, and generational patterns
Jamie’s books My Father, the Panda Killer and My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser
🎧 Listen to the full episode HERE
More about Jaime Jo Hoang:
Jamie Jo Hoang is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees. She grew up in Orange County, CA—not the rich part. She is the author of MY MOTHER, THE MERMAID CHASER, MY FATHER, THE PANDA KILLER and BLUE SUN, YELLOW SKY. Her work has also appeared in TIME, SALON and TinyBuddha.
👉 Website: https://www.heyjamie.com
👉 Instagram: @heyjamiereads
Allison’s Free Resources:
Stop Spiraling in Guilt Cheatsheet For Setting Boundaries: https://heyallisonly.myflodesk.com/cheatsheet
3 Easy Ways to Tackle Your Negative Self Talk: https://heyallisonly.myflodesk.com/start
Get my Free Quickstart Guide to Help You Help Your Loved Ones: https://heyallisonly.myflodesk.com/resource
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Episode Timeline:
0:28 – Meet Jaime Jo Hoang, Author
1:00 - Writing About Immigrant Family Trauma
4:30 - What Her Parents Did When They Found Out She Wrote a Book
14:50 - How to Set Boundaries With Immigrant Parents Without Guilt
18:50 - Breaking Generational Trauma: Every Generation Has Its Task
25:36 - A Question About Immigrant Guilt
40:33 - Unspoken Topics Around War
44:26 - Why Self-Compassion Is Harder
48:15 - Which Book to Read First: Mermaid Chaser vs Panda Killer
Links Mentioned:
InfatuAsian Podcast: Ep 194 Author Jamie Jo Hoang on Writing the Stories Our Vietnamese Parents Never Tell
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