Everything I Learned, I Learned in a ..., Curtis Chin
Everything I Learned, I Learned in a ..., Curtis Chin
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Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant
A Memoir

Author: Curtis Chin

Narrator: Curtis Chin

Unabridged: 8 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/17/2023

Synopsis

This “vivid, moving, funny, and heartfelt” memoir tells the story of Curtis Chin’s time growing up as a gay Chinese American kid in 1980’s Detroit (Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers). Nineteen eighties Detroit was a volatile place to live, but above the fray stood a safe haven: Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine, where anyone—from the city’s first Black mayor to the local drag queens, from a big-time Hollywood star to elderly Jewish couples—could sit down for a warm, home-cooked meal. Here was where, beneath a bright-red awning and surrounded by his multigenerational family, filmmaker and activist Curtis Chin came of age; where he learned to embrace his identity as a gay ABC, or American-born Chinese; where he navigated the divided city’s spiraling misfortunes; and where—between helpings of almond boneless chicken, sweet-and-sour pork, and some of his own, less-savory culinary concoctions—he realized just how much he had to offer to the world, to his beloved family, and to himself.

Served up by the cofounder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and structured around the very menu that graced the tables of Chung’s, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant is both a memoir and an invitation: to step inside one boy’s childhood oasis, scoot into a vinyl booth, and grow up with him—and perhaps even share something off the secret menu.

Goodreads’s New and Upcoming Books to Discover This Pride Month

Reviews

Goodreads review by *TUDOR^QUEEN* on September 27, 2023

4.5 Stars I really enjoyed this memoir from Curtis Chin, whose family owned a Chinese restaurant in Detroit, Michigan for six decades. Chin recounts growing up during the 80s along with his siblings, parents and grandparents, as they all participated in the running of this restaurant. The restaurant......more

Goodreads review by Vivi on April 19, 2023

I admit, as the granddaughter of a Chinese restaurant owner in East Detroit (back in the 70s and 80s, yo), this memoir was right up my alley. In EverythingI Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant, Curtis Chin captures the Detroit flavor of that era, the Chinese immigrant experience, and layers o......more

Goodreads review by Hannah on March 02, 2025

It’s weird. I thought I would connect with book more, considering there are some shared experiences I can use to relate to the author - immigrant life, anti Asian racism, political activism, coming out, breaking the mold of family expectations, being invisible, entrepreneurism, growing up in the 80s......more

Goodreads review by johnny on August 09, 2023

curtis chin's memoir "everything i learned, i learned in a chinese restaurant" explores asian identity and queer identity very well. however, this wasn't an enjoyable memoir for me. it was very bare bones. it didn't have much emotion either. this was the type of memoir that could be a conversation w......more

Goodreads review by Diana | LatinaWithABook on September 23, 2023

Let’s talk about how the chapters are arranged like a Chinese restaurant menu! So clever and such a nice detail. Growing up in the family Chinese restaurant in Detroit, Chin’s story follows growing up as a minority and finding his sexuality. It’s a combination of short stories and memories. From all......more

Quotes

"Vivid, moving, funny, and heartfelt, Curtis Chin’s memoir showcases his talents as an activist and a storyteller. This is one man’s story of growing up gay, Chinese American, and working class in 1980s Detroit, finding a place in a large and loving immigrant family and in a changing city—and in doing so, carving out a place in the world for himself."—Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers

"The work Curtis Chin has done as a writer and organizer made so much of this current moment possible—a memoir from him is a cause for celebration."—Alexander Chee, bestselling author of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

“Coming out and coming of age are hard enough for the average teen, but when they’re in a Chinese American family, in a city in conflict with itself, it becomes an epic journey of self-discovery. As a kid who also ran around in the back of a Chinese restaurant, this book is literary comfort food, so delicious and good for the soul. Curtis Chin’s story of coming of age and coming out is endearing and unforgettable.”—Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong May

"Curtis Chin's movable feast of a memoir dishes out everything you might want in a literary meal—savory reflections of our recent history, the sour-sweet tang of adolescent nostalgia, a little sauce, a lot of heart—and yes, plenty of hot tea. The real magic is in how a book that's so fulfilling still leaves you hungry for more." —Jeff Yang, New York Times bestselling author of The Golden Screen and Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the 90s to Now

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