In many ways, "Beautiful Country" issuch an American story. Balance is a concept that I think few litigators know (I certainly dont!). The book is only the first chapter of your life, you cover moving to Canada and getting your legal documents quickly in the last chapter. Soon, she was spending all her free time in the local Chinatown library, soaking up as much English as possible. And sometimes even fourths. This is absolutely what I was meant to do. When was the point in your life where you felt ready to open up about your experience growing up undocumented? You do fart jokes. Everything thats super-immature, we do. But I had to think about making an income, and law seemed like a way that I could use storytelling to make a difference in peoples lives and still make sure I could pay off my loans. For the ceremony, I wore a white gown that Qian Julie Wang - Wikipedia QIAN JULIE WANG: Thank you so much for having me, Scott. It became her second home, a place of safety. Im an Israeli Ashkenazi Jew whose children are also Asian, on mothers side. WebBeautiful Country: A Memoir (2021) by civil rights litigator Qian Julie Wang tells the story of Wangs experiences immigrating from China to the United States. What would that little girl think about me having paid off all my loans and having no excuse anymore to be afraid of being hungry, to continue to work for and represent corporations and billionaires and be in this kind of golden-handcuff situation? While I grew up learning English on library books, I never found a book that depicted characters who looked like me and lived in the way my parents and I did. Her family escaped to the United States, New York, in 1994 but were undocumented, and they had to live, in the Chinese phrase, as people in hei (ph) - the dark, the shadows, the underground world of undocumented immigrants who work menial jobs off the books in fear that their underground existence might be exposed. Coming to America at age 7, she was thrown into the brand new world of New York City. CONTACT US. Qian Julie Wang, who is a Yale Law graduate, now an attorney, has written a memoir, "Beautiful Country." WebFrom ages 7 to 12, Qian Julie Wang lived as an undocumented immigrant in Brooklyn, New York. Beautiful Country That contrast weighed on me far more than my newfound pounds. We look forward to seeing you again soon. How did you balance working as a litigator and writing your memoir?. I observed the disdain with which my classmates surveyed the offerings. Or did you have to take a step back? SIMON: Let me ask you about the time your mother falls ill and it kind of underscored a lot of the fear in which you had to live because when you're undocumented - well, you tell us. For me growing up, the library was my second home. Courtesy of Quian Julie Wang More than two decades after I first landed at JFK, I earned my citizenship. Central to tikkun olam is hearing the call of the voiceless and fighting for justice in every available avenue. There have been many times in the publication process when I have wondered whether I was crazy to go through with putting this book out into the world. Nor, alas, were the circumstances of my childhood. At age 7, Wang moved with her academic parents from China to Brooklyn, where they lived undocumented for five years. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. We are not a monolith by any means, but the unity of intersectionality is a beautiful thing. In Chinese, the word for America, Mei Guo, translates directly to beautiful country.. That experience really changed how I think about my story and my right to speak up and share it. How did you balance working as a litigator and writing your memoir? If my book might inspire readers to revisit their own childhood, to recognize and honor the resilience of the child self that still dwells in all of us, then it would be a dream come true. For five years thereafter, the three lived in the shadows of And thirds. Secrets: they have so much power dont they. For me, Qian represents the self and the precocious, mischievous child who went from knowing only love and acceptance to living in daily shame and hunger. Awaking from My American Dream - harpersbazaar.com The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. I think that kind of background at home cannot easily be supplanted by an external education system. It was there that I never had to question whether or not I belonged. And when I did, they expressed profound anxiety about the government coming after us, even though we are all on legal status now. I regret that the publication of my book might have awakened that sense of trauma in him, and I badly want to shield him from it. Qian Julie Wang Copyright 2023, David Strathairn plays historic Holocaust witness Jan Karski in PBS's 'Remember This'. We are in overdrive pretty much all the time. Qian Julie Wang grew up in libraries. American Judaism is Ashkenazi-centric, even though, historically and globally, Judaism is far more diverse. The story of Qian Julie Wang, as she explains, begins before she was born. Our childhood experiences comprise the hidden force that continues to wield power over our adult selves. I could hardly believe the range of options, and made my way from the salad bar to the pasta assortment, the entre section and the ice cream spread. I decided to embark on writing this when I became a citizen in May 2016, six months before the election. The first time I entered Sharples, I wandered from food station to food station with suspended breath. What memoirs, or other books, inspired you in your writing process? Im working on a novel now but after that I hope to return to the point where this book finishes our life in Canada. Was it hard writing such a memoir? There is universality in humanity and in the childhood experience in particular. The young girl in the book is such a strong character resilient, humorous, scrappy. Scott Simon speaks with author Qian Julie Wang about her new memoir, "Beautiful Country," which details her life growing up as an immigrant in New York City. This program is part of a Moment series on antisemitism supported by the Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation. If you have any questions, you can email OnLine@Ingrams.com, or call 816.268.6402. We are not a monolith by any means, but the unity of intersectionality is a beautiful thing. SN: Theres a line in the book that reads, Ma Ma didnt know it, but she was the reason my imagination burned alive everywhere I went, the reason I saw love in all beings and things. Can you talk about the joyful, playful aspect of your relationship with your mom and your parents, and how they inspire your creativity? Jewish spaces that feel deeply unwelcoming, Jewish Actor Adam Brody Will Play a Charming Rabbi on Netflix, I Tried to Contact My Jewish Ancestor Through an Ashkenazi Seance, 18 Things to Know About Jewish Model Sofia Richie. When Im at work, I snap into that hyper-focus survival mode, and I could just go on working forever. Qian Julie Wangs incandescent memoir, Beautiful Country, puts readers in the shoes of an undocumented child living in poverty in the richest country in the world. It also means standing up and speaking out even when it might be uncomfortable to do so - to be rooted first and foremost in our faith in equality. HOME| ONLY LANDING IN YOUR INBOX ON THURSDAY MORNINGS AT 11AM. The Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative, From Undocumented Child to Successful American Jewish Lawyer and Writer. Qian Julie Wang: I had always dreamed about writing this book because while I grew up learning English on library books, I never found a book that depicted characters who looked like me and lived in the way my parents and I did. For most of my life, I told myself that I was just oversensitive, that I read too much into thingseven though chink was among the first English words I learned, even though I had never been in a public space in America without fearing for my bodily safety. It's a voyage into the love, pain and secrets of family, a train ride through the confusion, resilience and delight of coming of age. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, The Giver.. When I discovered Judaism, I finally felt complete. An online magazine for todays home cook. Qian Julie Wang Thats something that still guides me to this day. All of us are stared at and assumed to be new converts or gentile. Judaism is the religion of the enslaved, the uprooted, the marginalized, and the other, and we are dedicated to making sure that its American community lives up to its roots. As I started writing this book and then editing it, I was reacquainted with that 8-year-old little girl who found the condensed biography of Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and was reminded of all the reasons why she wanted to go into law, and how, in her mind, lawyers were so powerful. If I had all the money in the world, I probably would have become a writer right away because I loved books and thats where I lived. Ingrams industry ranking lists are your go-to source for knowing the most influential companies across dozens of business sectors. SIMON: What did your parents caution you you should avoid saying and doing because your family was without documents? The Books Alexis Patterson Is Loving Right Now, Amazing Childrens Books by Arab and Arab American Authors, Browse All Our Lists, Essays, and Interviews. For me, that was very much a choice, whereas for the millions of people who are still undocumented today, that is not a choice. We had to forgo one last year, so I know we will be more than making up for it this year around. Webcourtesy of qian julie wang 09 Daily, I fought the urge to rescue perfectly edible meals from the garbage, recalls Qian Julie Wang 09. Web12.7k Followers, 1,121 Following, 373 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Qian Julie Wang (@qianjuliewang) qianjuliewang. They say you regress to the age at which your root trauma is. Shifting focus, can you tell us about your work with your Jews of Color group? Qian Julie Wang I was afraid they cascade over me. So letting that child in me feel those feelings for the first time, there was huge sense of closure and healing. Ingoing back I came to appreciate how incredible children are, how special that time is and what innate resilience we all have as kids. Its a voyage into the love, pain and secrets of family, a train ride through the confusion, resilience and delight of coming of age. Qian Julie Wang came to America with her parents when she was seven years old, living in the shadows and always looking over her shoulder throughout her Nowadays, we are sent a link to a video where authors have recorded a short blurb about their book. Has your family read Beautiful Country? Her story is a modern day Jewish American immigrant tale, and over e-mail we spoke about what it means to have this book out in the world, her work with Jews of Color and the meaningful publication of "Beautiful Country" on Rosh Hashanah. As such, our group's mission is first and foremost to build a safe space for Jews of Color to connect and engage in their religion - shelter for when we feel utterly unwanted in all other Jewish spaces. First, it is the day my book comes out. Something I was really struck by was how much reading, and your local library, was a safe space for you as a child (as a fellow kid who looooved going to the library!). My book is a celebration of childhood, that wondrous time when we were all still so tender and open. There have been more than one report of, for instance, Black Jews being followed by synagogue security guards and Asian Jews being subjected to fetishized comments during services (if I had a nickel every time a man came up to me during prayer and told me about an Asian woman he once dated). Beyond that, we also work to create platforms for Jews of Color within our synagogue and in the Jewish community and to engage racial justice work and activism outside the temple and outside the Jewish world. After loading a plate with a vegetable Id never heard of, with a name I could not pronounce (arugula), I approached a table in the side room with my new friends all of us still in that precarious need-to-impress stage and marveled in awe: Can you guys believe the spread today? Second, I am delighted to be giving a speech that morning at Central Synagogue (live-streamed worldwide here) and in Radio City Music Hall. During that time, she and her parents navigated school, sweatshop work, poverty, and a lack of access to basic needs like medical care the trauma inflicted by a country bent on dehumanizing people it deems illegal. But Wangs world was also filled with imagination, love, and discovery, and Beautiful Country vibrates on every level of nuance and storytelling. WebMs. My parents have read parts of it, and I have fact-checked certain memories with them, but they have not read the whole thing! I wrote the first draft of "Beautiful Country" while making partner at a national firm. When seven-year-old Qian arrives in New York City in 1994 full of curiosity, she is overwhelmed by crushing fear and scarcity. The brunt of our changing ecosystems falls first upon people of color and the poor, long before it will ever threaten to touch the perimeter of our lush campus. QJW: There are people in my life who know me only as Qian, and others who know me only as Julie. Her uncle, a teen at the time, was arrested for criticizing Mao Zedong, and her father's family lived under a hail of rocks, pebbles, slurs and worse. Your parents are such a central part to the book as you are an only child. Alumni/ae Association Book Club i couldnt have done it otherwise. I allowed that to dictate how I defined myself for far too long, and in deciding to embrace both of my first names, I am very much taking the stance that I can be both-andthat is, both Chinese and American, in absolutely equal parts. The book will forever represent to me the first time I felt accepted in the United States. Beyond that, we also work to create platforms for Jews of Color within our synagogue and in the Jewish community and to engage racial justice work and activism outside the temple and outside the Jewish world. What inspired you to share your tale of being an undocumented child?. Even so, I figured I would never make it happen, because I lived under messaging from all directions, my parents included, that my past was shameful and had to be kept hidden. Now, she's telling her story for the first time - buoyed by She is a commercial litigation associate in the New York office of Robins Kaplan, a law firm. I was very fortunate in getting a lot of early experiences that forced me to take on big cases and go into court and speak up. Qian Julie Wang An Inside Look at Beautiful Country Author Qian Julie My parents would have a heart attack if I wrote another memoir right away! I knew from my father, who had been an English literature professor in China, that native fluency would be the prerequisite to finding acceptance in American society, and on this front, I relied on my good friends Clifford, Berenstain Bears, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar to introduce me to the very basics of the English language. This is the very reason I wrote the book: this dream that another Chinese, Asian American, immigrant, poor or hungry kid might come upon it at their public library and might find in it something that gives them hope or solace to keep going. The links below will allow your organization to claim its place in the hierarchy of Kansas Citys premier businesses, non-profit organizations and related organizations. So after a day or two, the teacher recommended that I be put in a classroom for students with disabilities, even though I had no disabilities. All of us are stared at and assumed to be new converts or gentile. Grade school was tough, wasn't it? Daily, I fought the urge to rescue perfectly edible meals from the garbage. Yet when seven-year-old Qian arrives in New York City in 1994 full of curiosity, she is overwhelmed by crushing fear and scarcity. She said, secrets - they hold such power over us, don't they? My parents remain deeply ashamed and regretful of the past, and I dont think theyve ever forgiven themselves for my childhood years. Sign up for news about books, authors, and more from Penguin Random House. Soon, she was spending all her free Memoirist Qian Julie Wang Finally Found a Home With Her the truth? But I guess when youre not carrying the trauma of never having had the chance to really play, you actually get to play for your entire life because it just comes out. Required fields are marked *. Do you agree? SIMON: This memoir takes us through five years in your childhood, a young girl trying to make a home in America with her family. SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER TO STAY IN-THE-NOW. Please try again later. It was safe and I could always count on it to supply my old and new family and friends in the form of beloved characters - and all for free. Copyright 2021 NPR. WebQian Julie Wang is a litigator and a graduate of Yale Law School and Swarthmore College. My small hope is that if my parents don't read the full book until it's available to the public, they won't know the full scale of details shared, so they won't be sitting there, counting down the days to when ICE might be banging down their doors. Help me. Now, she's telling her story for the first time - buoyed by the hope of reaching those in libraries who were just like her. Without a doubt, it has been the Jews of Color community. As a child who felt lonely and lost most of the time, the Chatham Square public library branch in Chinatown was my anchor in my American life. I never even thought about it until my husband pointed out, Your parents are super-playful. It marked the one time I did not dare return for seconds. I'd always dreamed about writing this book. This is certainly not unusual for freshmen, but in my case, it was for atypical reasons. Qian Julie Wang is a litigator and the author of Beautiful Country. You're afraid to go to a hospital, aren't you? It was my biggest and wildest ambition to write a book that might allow others out there to see themselves reflected in literature, and have them know that it is possible to survive similar circumstances. Imagination, Reality, and Two Very Different Americas When she's not writing incredible memoirs, Wang is a litigator working as the managing partner of Gottlieb & Wang LLP - a firm dedicated to advocating for education and disability rights. His family was marked as dissidents and counterrevolutionaries, and his parents were publicly beaten. When I first read Minor Feelings, I was shocked to find another Asian American woman, living across the country and many years older than me, who had precise insight into all of the things that I thought I had been oversensitive about. You have grown to understand him. . Qian Julie Wang grew up in libraries. That said, an education system formally, certainly is crucial and is the way that we can ensure that there is social mobility in this country. A graduate of Yale Law School and currently a litigator and managing partner of Gottlieb & Wang LLP, Wang is also a skilled writer, rendering her childhood in rhapsodic sentences that immerse the reader in her experience. As we approach the Jewish New Year, any Rosh Hashanah plans you are looking forward to? I would say the first year of working on the book was just me in therapy trying to break everything apart and understand what had happened. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Since 2016, the College has undertaken a substantial effort to reduce the waste that we generate and to divert waste away from incineration in Chester, Pa., and into compost or recycling. Its interesting because you think about lawyers and litigators as people who work with their minds, but its also a huge toll on your body because youre working 13 to 14 hours straight. Its an incredibly moving, eye-opening book told through the eye of seven-year-old Wang about the struggles they endured. But two months later, on December 30, I was done with the entire draft. Sep 9, 2021. My parents remain deeply ashamed and regretful of the past, and I don't think they've ever forgiven themselves for my childhood years. Coming to America at age 7, she was thrown into the brand new world of New York City. as a gift from my beloved third grade teacher. KM: What is a book that youve read during the pandemic that has given you hope? Rarely are we able able to attend services without receiving at least some inappropriate, offensive remark. But that has never been the stance of the Swarthmore I know. I think that is the magic of life, when all of our adult selves can come out in their true forms and our childhood selves. Its the story of her childhood. Please try again later. What does it mean to you that other young Chinese kids will be able to read your story now? Soon, she was spending Detailing her familys experience as immigrants, Wangs first book vibrates with nuance and rhapsodic prose. Librarians are our unsung, modern-day heroes. Could you share why you chose your name and the meaning it has in your life? Qian Julie Wang grew up in libraries. Did you speak to your parents about them how did you remember so much? Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang You were thrown into a school. At that point, I had maybe one third to half of the book finished. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. In that sphere, I have been so fortunate to find lifelong friends my sisters and family in spirit. After that, I thrust myself into writing. To check it out at their local library? Qian Julie Wang was bornthe daughter of two professors in China and when she was seven, they moved to Mei Guo (the Beautiful Country) America and became undocumented immigrants. The waste I witnessed at Sharples threw into relief the hunger painted on the faces of the homeless lining the streets of Philadelphia, where I worked several part-time jobs. Wang and her parents were undocumented, and the 2016 election which occurred just after she became a naturalized American citizen spurred her to begin writing her memoir on her phone on the subway.