Alex Tizon

“In the America that I grew up in, men of Asia placed last in the hierarchy of manhood. They were invisible in the high-testosterone arenas of politics, big business, and sports. On television and in the movies, they were worse than invisible. They were embarrassing. We were embarrassing.”

“My siblings and I kept everything to ourselves, and rather than blowing up in an instant, my family broke apart slowly.”

“You are validating someone's life by telling their story. Even if it's a sad one.”

“Messages hidden in the thickets of a story are the ones that burrow deepest because most of us don't realize that any burrowing is going on at all.”

“Most of us, when imagining an All-American, wouldn't picture a man who looked like me. Not even I would.”

“My grandparents bowed to the Americans and sought to learn from them. My parents sought to be them.”