Dialogically fixed to the previous chapter, “On Asian/American Memory, Illness, and Passing” engages the personal as a means of reflecting upon the political. In particular, Worrall-Soriano—whose recently published cancer memoir, What Doesn’t Kill Us (2014) has received much critical acclaim—reflects upon how the field of Asian American studies, notwithstanding its preoccupations with state-authorized conflict and trauma, has historically failed to deal with widespread stigmatizations involving illness. Worrall-Soriano maps these omissions via a creative non-fiction exploration of her familial past; such forays, which assume the form of intergenerational palimpsest, bring to light the degree to which Asian American studies remains—in the face of teleology and despite critical movement—a post-traumatic stressed engagement.
Creative non-fiction in Cochin-Chinese Cities from 1945 to 1954