Qian Julie Wang’s unforgettable memoir, Beautiful Country, belongs on the shelf next to modern classics like Educated by Tara Westover, When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago, The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Qian Julie joins us on the show to talk about capturing the universality of childhood (no matter how difficult the details), facing down shame in order to tell the truth and more. Featured books: Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong, Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters and Middlemarch by George Elliott. Produced/Hosted by Miwa Messer and engineered by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays.