Join the Women's Resources Center and Asian American Cultural Center as we discuss "Saving Five", written by Amanda Nguyen. During our conversations, we will examine the complexities of survivor healing and activism in speaking your truth.

Book discussion will take place at the Women's Resources Center on Friday, April 18 from 4-5 PM.  Limited copies of the book may be available to students intending to attend on Friday, April 18. Sign up and request a copy of the book.

All members of the University of Illinois community are invited and encouraged to participate! 

Book Description:

A brave and imaginative memoir by the Nobel Peace Prize nominee Amanda Nguyen, detailing her healing journey and groundbreaking activism in the aftermath of her rape at Harvard.

In 2013, the trajectory of Amanda Nguyen’s life was changed forever when she was raped at Harvard.

Determined to not let her assault derail her goal of joining NASA after graduation, Nguyen opted for her rape kit to be filed under “Jane Doe.” But she was shocked to learn her choice to stay anonymous gave her only six months to take action before the state destroyed her kit, rendering any future legal action impossible. Nguyen knew then that she had two options: surrender to a law that effectively denied her justice, or fight for a change—not only for herself but for survivors everywhere.

A heart-wrenching memoir of survival and hope, Saving Five boldly braids the story of Nguyen’s activism—which resulted in Congress’s unanimous passage of the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act in 2016—with a second, beautifully imagined adventure, of Nguyen's younger selves as they—at ages five, fifteen, twenty-two, and thirty—navigate through dramatic incarnations of the emotional stages of her path toward healing, not only from her rape but from the violent turmoil of her childhood. The result is a groundbreaking work that seamlessly blends memoir with a moving journey toward acceptance and hope, forging a path ahead that is as inspiring as it is instructive.

From one of the most influential activists (and now astronauts) of her time, Saving Five is at once a tribute to resilience, a celebration of healing through action, and a resounding cry to change the world. 

Tuesday, February 6th, 2024

Lisa Kwong

About the Artist:

• Born and raised in Radford, Virginia
• Grew up working class under a family who owned a Chinese restaurant
• Appalachian State University:
  • B.A. in English, Minor in Music
• Indiana University:
  • M.F.A in Poetry
• "Searching for Wonton Soup" - Sundress Publication's 2019 Poetry Broadside Contest Winner
• Current lecturer for Asian American Studies at Indiana University

Becoming AppalAsian

A Collection of poems written by a Southern women of Asian descent detailing her parents, ancestors, ancestral land, homeland, and chosen land. 

Summary: "She is AppalAsian: a Southern woman of Asian descent raised in Appalachia who lays claim to soul food, a southern drawl chicken feet, and dumplings. Her poetry offers fresh language to express the complexities of her identity". 

 Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024

Curtis Chin

About the Artist:

 A co-founder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop in New York City, Curtis Chin served as the non-profits’ first Executive Director. He went on to write for network and cable television before transitioning to social justice documentaries. Chin has screened his films at over 600 venues in twenty countries. He has written for CNN, Bon Appetit, the Detroit Free Press and the Emancipator/Boston Globe. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Chin has received awards from ABC/Disney Television, New York Foundation for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and more. His memoir, "Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant" will be published by Little, Brown in Fall 2023. His essay in Bon Appetit was just selected for Best Food Writing in America 2023.

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant

A memoir by Curtis Chin describing his experience growing up as a gay Chinese American in Detroit during the 1980s

Jai Chakrabarti will discuss his first novel, A Play for the End of the World. This event is a collaboration with the International and Area Studies Library and is the last event of our South Asian American Leadership Conference.

March 3, 2022 - 4pm-5pm CST
Zoom & In-Person in the AACC Lounge

For Fall 2020 of the AACC Book Club, we collaborated with Purdue University's Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center and Indiana University's Asian Culture Center! We read "Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning" by Cathy Park Hong and hosted a virtual discussion. We also hosted a virtual Meet and Greet with author, Cathy Park Hong on Friday, October 2 at 11:30am CST.