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All Our Ordinary Stories: A Multigenerational Family Odyssey
From the author of Dear Scarlet comes a graphic memoir about the obstacles one daughter faces as she attempts to connect with her immigrant parents
Beginning with her mother's stroke in 2014, Teresa Wong takes us on a moving journey through time and place to locate the beginnings of the disconnection she feels from her parents. Through a series of stories—some epic, like her mother and father's daring escapes from communes during China's Cultural Revolution, and some banal, like her quitting Chinese school to watch Saturday morning cartoons—Wong carefully examines the cultural, historical, language, and personality barriers to intimacy in her family, seeking answers to the questions "Where did I come from?" and "Where are we going?" At the same time, she discovers how storytelling can bridge distances and help make sense of a life.
A book for children of immigrants trying to honor their parents' pasts while also making a different kind of future for themselves, All Our Ordinary Stories is poignant in its understated yet nuanced depictions of complicated family dynamics. Wong's memoir is a heartfelt exploration of identity and inheritance, as well as a testament to the transformative power of stories both told and untold.
Beginning with her mother's stroke in 2014, Teresa Wong takes us on a moving journey through time and place to locate the beginnings of the disconnection she feels from her parents. Through a series of stories—some epic, like her mother and father's daring escapes from communes during China's Cultural Revolution, and some banal, like her quitting Chinese school to watch Saturday morning cartoons—Wong carefully examines the cultural, historical, language, and personality barriers to intimacy in her family, seeking answers to the questions "Where did I come from?" and "Where are we going?" At the same time, she discovers how storytelling can bridge distances and help make sense of a life.
A book for children of immigrants trying to honor their parents' pasts while also making a different kind of future for themselves, All Our Ordinary Stories is poignant in its understated yet nuanced depictions of complicated family dynamics. Wong's memoir is a heartfelt exploration of identity and inheritance, as well as a testament to the transformative power of stories both told and untold.
240 pages, Paperback
Published September 24, 2024
24 people are currently reading
605 people want to read
About the author
Teresa Wong
6 books54 followersTeresa Wong is the author of the graphic memoirs All Our Ordinary Stories (2024) and Dear Scarlet (2019). Her comics have appeared in The Believer, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s and The Walrus. A teacher of memoir and comics at Gotham Writers Workshop, she was also the 2021–22 Canadian Writer-in-Residence at the University of Calgary. byteresawong.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
November 24, 2024
I first reading Teresa Wong's Dear Scarlet, her memoir about navigating post-partum depression, which I really liked and learned from. Wong continues her life story through a story about the always divide between an immigrant family and her children. Wong never spoke much to her parents, but wanted to have a better relationship with them. Generational divide. They are so different! Of course, all children do not fully know their parents. Sure, you can create a ten-hour oral history about your parents as I did, finding I still did not know much about them, as they had lived decades before me, of course.
One of the things Wong wanted to know about, especially as she got older, was the dramatic story of how her parents escaped China, but they really never wanted to talk about it. Wong's mother seems to fend out approaches left and right; they were never close, and she resisted Wong's efforts. Wong, ever the dutiful daughter, nevertheless forgives her parents for their emotional neglect at every turn. This made me sad, though as a dutiful son denied access to his Dutch roots by my parents--who feared refugee backlash and discrimination, as others had experienced--I understand these complicated feelings.
In many ways thi is a kind of typical story of generational divide, but meticulous in trying to fill in gaps everywhere, taking years to complete with all her research. Surely this is an even better story than Dear Scarlet, with better drawing and more sophisticated cartooning skills. Thanks to Goodreads pal and comics artist David Bruggink and the author for sending me a copy t0 review.
One of the things Wong wanted to know about, especially as she got older, was the dramatic story of how her parents escaped China, but they really never wanted to talk about it. Wong's mother seems to fend out approaches left and right; they were never close, and she resisted Wong's efforts. Wong, ever the dutiful daughter, nevertheless forgives her parents for their emotional neglect at every turn. This made me sad, though as a dutiful son denied access to his Dutch roots by my parents--who feared refugee backlash and discrimination, as others had experienced--I understand these complicated feelings.
In many ways thi is a kind of typical story of generational divide, but meticulous in trying to fill in gaps everywhere, taking years to complete with all her research. Surely this is an even better story than Dear Scarlet, with better drawing and more sophisticated cartooning skills. Thanks to Goodreads pal and comics artist David Bruggink and the author for sending me a copy t0 review.
April 8, 2024
Rounded up from 4.5 stars, lol.
December 15, 2024
Book blurb: A book for children of immigrants trying to honor their parents' pasts while also making a different kind of future for themselves, All Our Ordinary Stories is poignant in its understated yet nuanced depictions of complicated family dynamics.
Loved everything about this graphic memoir.
Loved everything about this graphic memoir.
March 25, 2025
The Canadian author tries to bridge the gap between herself and her somewhat aloof Chinese immigrant parents as part of a search for her own identity as a person who has lost touch with her parent's culture to the point that she has a language gap with her mother.
I really enjoyed Teresa Wong's Dear Scarlet: The Story of My Postpartum Depression, and this book gets off to a strong start as she deals with the ramifications of her mother's recent stroke. But the narrative lags as Wong jumps around in time and place exploring her parents' lives in Mao's China and their subsequent escapes to Hong Kong and relocation to Calgary.
Honestly, this is the seventh book I've read about the children of Chinese immigrants to North America in roughly the last year, and they're starting to run together a little bit. It's great to see these stories getting exposure, but I really need to pace myself better before putting the next one into my library hold queue.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents: Mother Tongue -- Motherland -- Forefathers -- Mother Nature
Portions of this book were previously published in The Believer:
• "This Is Not a Feel-Good Movie" [The Joy Luck Club], The Believer, Issue 130: April/May
• "Piano Lessons," The Believer, 137: October/November 2021
(Best of 2024 Project: I'm reading all the graphic novels that made it onto one or more of these lists:
• Washington Post 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2024
• Publishers Weekly 2024 Graphic Novel Critics Poll
• NPR's Books We Love 2024: Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels
This book made the NPR list.)
I really enjoyed Teresa Wong's Dear Scarlet: The Story of My Postpartum Depression, and this book gets off to a strong start as she deals with the ramifications of her mother's recent stroke. But the narrative lags as Wong jumps around in time and place exploring her parents' lives in Mao's China and their subsequent escapes to Hong Kong and relocation to Calgary.
Honestly, this is the seventh book I've read about the children of Chinese immigrants to North America in roughly the last year, and they're starting to run together a little bit. It's great to see these stories getting exposure, but I really need to pace myself better before putting the next one into my library hold queue.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents: Mother Tongue -- Motherland -- Forefathers -- Mother Nature
Portions of this book were previously published in The Believer:
• "This Is Not a Feel-Good Movie" [The Joy Luck Club], The Believer, Issue 130: April/May
• "Piano Lessons," The Believer, 137: October/November 2021
(Best of 2024 Project: I'm reading all the graphic novels that made it onto one or more of these lists:
• Washington Post 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2024
• Publishers Weekly 2024 Graphic Novel Critics Poll
• NPR's Books We Love 2024: Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels
This book made the NPR list.)
December 15, 2024
im so grateful that this book exists - it really captures all the experiences, feelings, thoughts, dreams, and recollections of diasporic grief as the eldest daughter of an immigrant family
interestingly this book didn’t hit as hurt as much as i thought it would - perhaps, in a way, ive tired myself out with my own same feelings of this all-too-familiar grief. have i numbed myself to it ? or maybe in some ways, im starting to make peace with it.
the deep intense yearning to know our parents and their traumatic backstories, as a deep desperate attempt to know ourselves, perhaps is a desperate shortcut to having our selves (and our fates?) be determined for us. which is what wong comes to suggest in the end of this book. we’re not meant to [destined to] continue these cycles of taut relationships, right? our parents painted paths through forests and oceans, and so that i too can sculpt the life that i [we - my parents, ours - of all the ancestors, interwoven] hope and dream of.
interestingly this book didn’t hit as hurt as much as i thought it would - perhaps, in a way, ive tired myself out with my own same feelings of this all-too-familiar grief. have i numbed myself to it ? or maybe in some ways, im starting to make peace with it.
the deep intense yearning to know our parents and their traumatic backstories, as a deep desperate attempt to know ourselves, perhaps is a desperate shortcut to having our selves (and our fates?) be determined for us. which is what wong comes to suggest in the end of this book. we’re not meant to [destined to] continue these cycles of taut relationships, right? our parents painted paths through forests and oceans, and so that i too can sculpt the life that i [we - my parents, ours - of all the ancestors, interwoven] hope and dream of.
February 28, 2025
To be an immigrant daughter is to always wonder where you came from, who you are and what's your purpose
Wong nails down the constant need to belong to something while belonging to nothing, while grasping at the straws your parents are willing to give.
In the end, like monarchs even if it takes us 4 generations to complete our journey, we will give our children more of what we always longed for while forgiving our parents for what they should have done but were unable to because of the hardship that comes with crossing an ocean to create a better life.
Wong nails down the constant need to belong to something while belonging to nothing, while grasping at the straws your parents are willing to give.
In the end, like monarchs even if it takes us 4 generations to complete our journey, we will give our children more of what we always longed for while forgiving our parents for what they should have done but were unable to because of the hardship that comes with crossing an ocean to create a better life.
October 2, 2024
Loved this book so much it made my heart ache. Was really looking forward to Teresa Wong’s second graphic memoir and it did not disappoint. We see through her eyes as she tries (throughout her life) to understand and relate to her parents, learn about their history and dangerous escape from China. Poignant, shocking, sad, and sweet with some fun 80s 90s pop culture references sprinkled in. A perfect “coming-of-middle-age” story that I enjoyed all the way through.
April 18, 2025
My father-in-law swam to Hong Kong to escape communism in China. He carved his own name on his arm as a DIY tattoo, made a new life in Hong Kong, and eventually settled down and had a family years later in Canada. Today, he and my mother-in-law are retired with a house and are grandparents.
The past doesn't always tell the full truth of who we are, but the past can certainly shape the present. And the present can change the way we look at the past.
This book made me grateful that even though my in-laws don't speak English, they still take time to share their stories with me, even if they are patchwork and hampered by having a translator to help us with the back-and-forth.
This book is about longing for a true connection, and I agree with the author that true connection is bridged by understanding. The struggle is that, what an "ordinary story" is to someone, might be something I could never even conceive of or understand. But we slowly make our way through building a bridge anyway. We build the bridge out of the puzzle pieces of history. And then we mend the gaps with acceptance. It's patchwork, but it's possible.
This book spoke to me about this journey so well. Ultimately so relatable and poignant.
The past doesn't always tell the full truth of who we are, but the past can certainly shape the present. And the present can change the way we look at the past.
This book made me grateful that even though my in-laws don't speak English, they still take time to share their stories with me, even if they are patchwork and hampered by having a translator to help us with the back-and-forth.
This book is about longing for a true connection, and I agree with the author that true connection is bridged by understanding. The struggle is that, what an "ordinary story" is to someone, might be something I could never even conceive of or understand. But we slowly make our way through building a bridge anyway. We build the bridge out of the puzzle pieces of history. And then we mend the gaps with acceptance. It's patchwork, but it's possible.
This book spoke to me about this journey so well. Ultimately so relatable and poignant.
March 26, 2025
Fantastic graphic memoir with hints to Calgary and the Chinese immigrant experience. It even brought a tear to my eye.
February 9, 2025
What a beautiful collection of story. The weaving of history and present day is thoughtful, emotional and informative. I would have short-listed this one for Canada Reads. Wong is so gifted at graphic memoirs that just fill and break your heart at the same time.
July 8, 2025
A fascinating point of comparison to Feeding Ghosts, which I read directly after this. All Our Ordinary Stories (similarly) addresses the author's complicated relationship with her Chinese immigrant parents. They both had (similarly) harrowing stories of escape to Hong Kong from communist China, though they downplayed them later in life.
Wong does a better job of condensing her narrative in All Our Ordinary Stories than Hulls does in Feeding Ghosts. Though, admittedly, the tale is less complex without a mentally ill grandmother or multigenerational trauma bond. I appreciated the simple, clean art and storytelling, even as Wong jumped around between topics. Both books deserve to be read, though All Our Ordinary Stories is perhaps a better entry point in the "child of Chinese immigrants searches for identity" genre.
Wong does a better job of condensing her narrative in All Our Ordinary Stories than Hulls does in Feeding Ghosts. Though, admittedly, the tale is less complex without a mentally ill grandmother or multigenerational trauma bond. I appreciated the simple, clean art and storytelling, even as Wong jumped around between topics. Both books deserve to be read, though All Our Ordinary Stories is perhaps a better entry point in the "child of Chinese immigrants searches for identity" genre.
January 2, 2025
wow. amazing. a story of Cantonese generations from the perspective of the eldest daughter of immigrants trying to find the stories of the past while not re-raising trauma for the older generations. fascinating, deeply personal and relatable, and truly profound. feel the need to dissect but know that it’ll take a lifetime.
one of the consumable contents that feel deeply part of my cultural identity, of which there are few.
one of the consumable contents that feel deeply part of my cultural identity, of which there are few.
October 28, 2024
I have really been hitting it out of the park with these absolutely fantastic, diverse graphic memoirs. This one really touched down much of the disconnect sometimes felt by children of immigrants, though I am fortunate to be fluent in my family’s mother tongue.
November 9, 2024
A really beautiful and wonderful story of immigration, family, and finding your place in the fabric of your family’s histories.
July 12, 2025
Oh to be the eldest daughter in an immigrant family
February 10, 2025
This was Teresa Wong’s memoir told in graphic format. It was a good way to tell a very visual story. The illustrations were really well done and painted a picture so clearly for the reader. As much as this was Wong’s story of growing up in Calgary with immigrant parents, this was also very much her parents story, too. Each chapter had some sort of starting point which she would lead her reader through. From dealing with her mother who just had a stroke, to her own upbringing trying to find her identity as a Chinese Canadian. As we dove deeper into the book we got deeper into her history, learning about her parents and the type of people they are, how they fled China to Hong Kong to finally arrive in Canada – both her mother’s story and her father’s; she even took it back to her grandparents and great-grandparents to really show the multigenerational strength and trauma. Some of it was so heartbreaking to read because you really felt for her parents and what they had to go through, escaping a country. So many emotions went unsaid; we could see that Wong really tried to bring her parent’s story to life, to show the importance of it, and how her parents were very reluctant to want to share what had happened to them. This also touched on the mother-daughter relationship and how evocative and relatable it could be. She touched on her father-daughter relationship, but it was nothing compared to the relationship a daughter has with her mother; when she wrote about her mother, you could feel the emotion behind it. In the end, this was a moving story, in which Wong really captured her parents story with her own in a beautiful visual.
June 9, 2025
Brilliant book about what it’s like to be a child of immigrants and to forever saddle two cultures.
So many things resonated with me - though I’m Portuguese American whilst the author is Chinese Canadian - that I felt compelled to take screen shots of various pages.
Recommended to anyone like us or to just anyone who’d like to know more about what it’s like to grow up in North America as a recent descendant of immigrants.
So many things resonated with me - though I’m Portuguese American whilst the author is Chinese Canadian - that I felt compelled to take screen shots of various pages.
Recommended to anyone like us or to just anyone who’d like to know more about what it’s like to grow up in North America as a recent descendant of immigrants.
October 10, 2024
Teresa Wong asks profound questions that resonate quite a bit with me: my father grew up speaking Dutch but didn’t pass it on to me, and I always wished I had been able to learn Dutch so I could have a deeper connection with my relatives and my family's past. My grandparents had roots in Holland and Indonesia. I had some vague grasp of the narratives of their earlier lives growing up, a sense that they had lived through incredible, historic events and also done unbelievable things, acts of profound bravery and resilience, and wished I could understand them better.
In All Our Ordinary Stories, Wong explores these kinds of issues as they relate to her own family, and takes us on a fascinating journey to better understand her ancestors' experiences, and how they affected her. Like me, she grew up hearing these incredible stories and struggling to reckon with their implications. Fleeing a tumultuous China in the grip of the Cultural Revolution, Wong's family members endured famine, prison camps, communes, and harrowing journeys in pursuit of better lives. Their subsequent lives in Canada (like my relatives' in the US) were not without their own challenges and complexities.
Past and present, China and Canada – life events intermingle in a way that’s fascinating and illuminating. Language, food, identity, family, and history are all tied together as Wong both revisits her childhood and examines the effects of the past on the present.
Wong's style is minimal, driven by spare black linework and shading, yet the atmosphere here is tangible. Though I really enjoyed her previous book, Dear Scarlet, the depictions here of nature, urban environments, and family interactions feel like a progression and lend a feeling of being in the moment with Wong. An extremely thought-provoking and resonant graphic memoir.
In All Our Ordinary Stories, Wong explores these kinds of issues as they relate to her own family, and takes us on a fascinating journey to better understand her ancestors' experiences, and how they affected her. Like me, she grew up hearing these incredible stories and struggling to reckon with their implications. Fleeing a tumultuous China in the grip of the Cultural Revolution, Wong's family members endured famine, prison camps, communes, and harrowing journeys in pursuit of better lives. Their subsequent lives in Canada (like my relatives' in the US) were not without their own challenges and complexities.
Past and present, China and Canada – life events intermingle in a way that’s fascinating and illuminating. Language, food, identity, family, and history are all tied together as Wong both revisits her childhood and examines the effects of the past on the present.
Wong's style is minimal, driven by spare black linework and shading, yet the atmosphere here is tangible. Though I really enjoyed her previous book, Dear Scarlet, the depictions here of nature, urban environments, and family interactions feel like a progression and lend a feeling of being in the moment with Wong. An extremely thought-provoking and resonant graphic memoir.
April 9, 2024
If I could give this graphic novel 6 stars, I would!
November 4, 2024
Pull quotes/notes
"NOTES ON LANGUAGE
My first language-the language of my family-is Cantonese. And even though I don't speak it well, you can assume all conversations I have with my parents and other Chinese elders in this book occur in Cantonese. I have chosen to keep some Cantonese words untranslated because I feel they are better represented and more meaningful in their original form. My Cantonese transliterations do not follow a standard romanization system, but they are mainly searchable online. I also use Mandarin Pinyin for many Chinese place names to make them easier to locate on a map. If you find this jumble of language and dialects frustrating, please know that it is even worse inside my head."
The chapter where Teresa and her mother are watching
But then...
February 7, 2025
"If the journey of those who came before me were al about survival, then mine is about dealing with the aftermath.
I was born into a deep brokenness. My journey is to hold all those broken parts inside myself. To live knowing that most of it will never be fixed. And to find out what i am capable of despite-or because of- it all.
I will keep making adaptations. All while seeking transformation. "
The book started slowly and gradually became more and more gripping, and reached its climax by the end. I especially love the part that the author compares her family's odyssey as the the monarch butterfly's generational journey between Mexico and Canada, brilliant!
While sometimes the book looks mundane, it has many beautifully written parts that I really like. I always think that a graphic novel can only be an excellent book when it excels in both the drawings and writing. This book achieved the latter. Below are a few of my favorite quotes:
"A nation's history is a family's history.
What you leave blank also maters. What's absent is just as important as what's present. ...
Legacy is not the same as destiny. History does not determine the future.
What is absent and what is present can change over time. And if it truly began centuries ago, then the end is still a long way off.
Where did I come from? Where are we going? I still don't know. But I will write my own way forward. The story will continue. This is not the end. "
I was born into a deep brokenness. My journey is to hold all those broken parts inside myself. To live knowing that most of it will never be fixed. And to find out what i am capable of despite-or because of- it all.
I will keep making adaptations. All while seeking transformation. "
The book started slowly and gradually became more and more gripping, and reached its climax by the end. I especially love the part that the author compares her family's odyssey as the the monarch butterfly's generational journey between Mexico and Canada, brilliant!
While sometimes the book looks mundane, it has many beautifully written parts that I really like. I always think that a graphic novel can only be an excellent book when it excels in both the drawings and writing. This book achieved the latter. Below are a few of my favorite quotes:
"A nation's history is a family's history.
What you leave blank also maters. What's absent is just as important as what's present. ...
Legacy is not the same as destiny. History does not determine the future.
What is absent and what is present can change over time. And if it truly began centuries ago, then the end is still a long way off.
Where did I come from? Where are we going? I still don't know. But I will write my own way forward. The story will continue. This is not the end. "
November 5, 2024
Nothing is ordinary about the narratives we encounter in "All Our Ordinary Stories," the second graphic memoir by writer and illustrator Teresa Wong. When her mother appears to grow despondent and melancholy after suffering a stroke, Wong contemplates her family’s story of uprooting from Guangzhou, China, to settle in Canada. Using the comic form, Wong illustrates ruptures and pauses in outsider lives. We learn about the long arc of suffering and triumphs endured by her parents during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Wars, societal conflicts, and oppressive regimes led her forebears to leave their homes and find better lives in distant lands, a journey that inspires hope and resilience.
I engaged with the book from my perspective as a first-generation immigrant. The themes of self-sacrifice, ambition, and loss surface throughout Wong’s narrative, and they are intimate and familiar. Wong shares the legacy of family separation from ancestral lands and fractures across the diaspora. Fellow immigrants may find solace in Wong’s confession that she harbored guilt for losing fluency and faculty in her mother’s language, thus limiting her ability to connect emotionally. Wong tells this story with plenty of heart and a deep sense of gratitude for where her ancestors have been and the heritage of generational grief and survival.
I engaged with the book from my perspective as a first-generation immigrant. The themes of self-sacrifice, ambition, and loss surface throughout Wong’s narrative, and they are intimate and familiar. Wong shares the legacy of family separation from ancestral lands and fractures across the diaspora. Fellow immigrants may find solace in Wong’s confession that she harbored guilt for losing fluency and faculty in her mother’s language, thus limiting her ability to connect emotionally. Wong tells this story with plenty of heart and a deep sense of gratitude for where her ancestors have been and the heritage of generational grief and survival.
April 19, 2025
4.5/5
At first this was really triggering to read - as a first-generation Canadian daughter of Asian* immigrants, a daughter helping to care for my older parents now, it was too close to my own life. (*South Asian for me, East Asian for the author.)
I actually said to my sister that I didn’t want to read it after the first few chapters (it was chosen for the book we’re reading part of a city-wide book club at my work) and I was glad I wasn’t working the program this year… but then a coworker left and they asked me to work it again, so I joined in and kept reading the book…and you know what? It’s great.
It’s painful and messy, but it’s so true to life that I could feel her stories and feelings in my core. I have a better relationship with my parents than Teresa Wong seems to have/have had with hers, but the feelings of being a first-generation Canadian daughter are the same.
I especially appreciated the parts where she talked about her visit to China and searching for information on her grandfather, those were really interesting. Personally, I don’t know how she was able to share so much so openly about her & her family’s life and I sometimes felt a bit bad for reading about such personal things, but it was really well done - the fact that she did it as a graphic novel and incorporated her art was another plus for me.
At first this was really triggering to read - as a first-generation Canadian daughter of Asian* immigrants, a daughter helping to care for my older parents now, it was too close to my own life. (*South Asian for me, East Asian for the author.)
I actually said to my sister that I didn’t want to read it after the first few chapters (it was chosen for the book we’re reading part of a city-wide book club at my work) and I was glad I wasn’t working the program this year… but then a coworker left and they asked me to work it again, so I joined in and kept reading the book…and you know what? It’s great.
It’s painful and messy, but it’s so true to life that I could feel her stories and feelings in my core. I have a better relationship with my parents than Teresa Wong seems to have/have had with hers, but the feelings of being a first-generation Canadian daughter are the same.
I especially appreciated the parts where she talked about her visit to China and searching for information on her grandfather, those were really interesting. Personally, I don’t know how she was able to share so much so openly about her & her family’s life and I sometimes felt a bit bad for reading about such personal things, but it was really well done - the fact that she did it as a graphic novel and incorporated her art was another plus for me.
June 4, 2025
An unusual format, a graphic memoir, illustrated by the author herself, which I found very compelling. It treats the relationships between generations of a refugee family from Mao’s China, and a Canadian/born daughter’s struggle to come to terms with the fact that, while she can learn more and more about what her parents have been through—the historical currents which generations of her family have been at the mercy of—their real inner selves, their hearts, and a true sense of connection and love from and with them, will remain forever out of reach. I found myself finding peace with that the way the author did. It’s uncomfortable, but it is what it is. And I thought her attempt to frame the narrative in terms of a butterfly migration (where multiple generations of monarch butterflies make the trip to and from Mexico, no one generation necessarily understanding where they are coming from or where they are heading) was quite effective. The author explores her own past as a daughter of survivors, who were children of survivors, and begins to chart a path forward where she is no longer just a survivor, but one who thrives.
I think the graphic format distills the incredibly messy and chaotic idea of intergenerational trauma and healing down to a potent and accessible essence. This was a fast and easy read that, nevertheless, felt impactful. And important for our times.
I think the graphic format distills the incredibly messy and chaotic idea of intergenerational trauma and healing down to a potent and accessible essence. This was a fast and easy read that, nevertheless, felt impactful. And important for our times.
September 30, 2024
I picked up this book because it had a confluence of stories that connected with my family background- estranged mother-daughter relationships, leaving Communist China, navigating limited language skills, and living in Calgary. It didn't disappoint.
This graphic novel consists of short stories describing everything from her parents harrowing (yet ordinary) escape journeys from Communist China (that involved… not just trespassing jungles on land, but a half day swim at night in a bay); to the challenges of trying to communicate with your parents when you don’t speak their language fluently; to the classic whirlwind "return-to-your-roots" journey back to your parent's home country. Wong is a wonderful storyteller-- capturing the emotion in her drawings and her storylines. I love how she highlights some of the smaller details of Chinese immigrant life-- peeling fruit, hot water.
I highly recommend this book!
This graphic novel consists of short stories describing everything from her parents harrowing (yet ordinary) escape journeys from Communist China (that involved… not just trespassing jungles on land, but a half day swim at night in a bay); to the challenges of trying to communicate with your parents when you don’t speak their language fluently; to the classic whirlwind "return-to-your-roots" journey back to your parent's home country. Wong is a wonderful storyteller-- capturing the emotion in her drawings and her storylines. I love how she highlights some of the smaller details of Chinese immigrant life-- peeling fruit, hot water.
I highly recommend this book!
April 27, 2025
A very good graphic novel that was on Canada Reads 2025 Longlist.
All Our Ordinary Stories, explores multi-generational trauma, fractured families, immigration and found family. Teresa Wong tells the story of the difficulties she had forming bonds with her parents and her search for her family history.
Teresa is a second generation Canadian-Chinese, trying to relate to parents who have suffered so much heartache, loss and family separation that they don't know how to be affectionate. Her parents spoke little to no English and Teresa had little interest in learning their language so she never finished Chinese school. Saturday mornings in her opinion were for cartoons and her parents didn't force her to continue, a decision that in hindsight she now realizes didn't help her or her parents.
There's a lot learn from this novel about the Chinese immigration struggle. Chinese immigrants built our railways but in 1885 they were subject to a head tax which coincidentally came into effect the same year the railways were finished.
Some subjects I will be reading more about as a result of his book:
The Exclusion Tax in effect from 1923-1947
Opium War 1839
Excellent novel.
All Our Ordinary Stories, explores multi-generational trauma, fractured families, immigration and found family. Teresa Wong tells the story of the difficulties she had forming bonds with her parents and her search for her family history.
Teresa is a second generation Canadian-Chinese, trying to relate to parents who have suffered so much heartache, loss and family separation that they don't know how to be affectionate. Her parents spoke little to no English and Teresa had little interest in learning their language so she never finished Chinese school. Saturday mornings in her opinion were for cartoons and her parents didn't force her to continue, a decision that in hindsight she now realizes didn't help her or her parents.
There's a lot learn from this novel about the Chinese immigration struggle. Chinese immigrants built our railways but in 1885 they were subject to a head tax which coincidentally came into effect the same year the railways were finished.
Some subjects I will be reading more about as a result of his book:
The Exclusion Tax in effect from 1923-1947
Opium War 1839
Excellent novel.
May 31, 2025
I love a graphic novel memoir.
This one combines witty lines that had me laughing out loud and others that are so profound and sad and beautiful.
I admit I am not very familiar with the history of immigration from China to Canada and I learned a lot.
The themes of complicated family relationships, the impacts of intergenerational trauma, the language barriers and cultural disconnect that exist within immigrant families, and the impacts of motherhood on understanding of all of it are all woven together so effortlessly.
The book also starts with a note on language including the line: “If you find this jumble of language and dialects frustrating, please know that it is even worse inside my head.”
Followed by this tweet: “are you the eldest daughter of an immigrant household or are you normal.”
As an eldest daughter myself, I knew I already liked her sense of humor and was excited to keep reading!
This one combines witty lines that had me laughing out loud and others that are so profound and sad and beautiful.
I admit I am not very familiar with the history of immigration from China to Canada and I learned a lot.
The themes of complicated family relationships, the impacts of intergenerational trauma, the language barriers and cultural disconnect that exist within immigrant families, and the impacts of motherhood on understanding of all of it are all woven together so effortlessly.
The book also starts with a note on language including the line: “If you find this jumble of language and dialects frustrating, please know that it is even worse inside my head.”
Followed by this tweet: “are you the eldest daughter of an immigrant household or are you normal.”
As an eldest daughter myself, I knew I already liked her sense of humor and was excited to keep reading!
December 5, 2024
All Our Ordinary Stories is not an ordinary story, but an extraordinary one. Woven between the comics is a heartfelt story about responsibility, family, and identity. Within the first few pages, I was drawn in by Teresa's personal story as if it was my own. How she grew up, the references her parents made, dealing with aging parents, the food she ate, cartoons she watched, and even her trip to Guangdong resonated with my own experience as I imagine it'll resonate with many Chinese Canadians and Americans. This book made me free as if I'm no longer alone, that there is a history out there worthy of being told, and can be told through various ways like a graphic novel. Wonderful book and a must read for everyone! And one that I'll read over and over again.
March 8, 2025
Another from the CBC Canada Reads longlist - and another graphic novel at that!
I really loved this one! I find stories written by families of immigrants so gut-wrenching and enlightening. Teresa Wong paints such a vivid picture of her own thoughts, feelings, and struggles in her relationships with her parents and her cultural heritage, while also interweaving fascinating stories about how her grandparents got to Canada in the first place. The stories she tells are truly unfathomable to me.
The graphic style of this book suited the story perfectly. Sometimes there are clean squares, as one might expect on a comic-book-style page, and other times she abandons the boxes in favor of more space or more flowing images. Throughout the book, the graphics are simple, yet beautiful.
I really loved this one! I find stories written by families of immigrants so gut-wrenching and enlightening. Teresa Wong paints such a vivid picture of her own thoughts, feelings, and struggles in her relationships with her parents and her cultural heritage, while also interweaving fascinating stories about how her grandparents got to Canada in the first place. The stories she tells are truly unfathomable to me.
The graphic style of this book suited the story perfectly. Sometimes there are clean squares, as one might expect on a comic-book-style page, and other times she abandons the boxes in favor of more space or more flowing images. Throughout the book, the graphics are simple, yet beautiful.
October 24, 2024
i don’t typically read graphic novels, but seeing teresa wong’s art on her instagram drew me in. this book is stunning, both illustratively and narratively. so much of the subject matter resonates with me and my own journeys with family history, silence, and not knowing how to bring the two together. wong is such a genius in the way she lays this story on the page. i’m leaving this book feeling incredibly inspired with new ways to approach my own artistic practice, specifically regarding ways to explore gaps and unknowingness. loved, loved, loved this, and i’m excited to dive further into this genre!
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