dear elia: Letters from the Asian American Abyss

by Mimi Khuc

In dear elia , Mimi Khúc revolutionizes how we understand mental health. Khúc traces the contemporary Asian American mental health crisis from the university into the maw of the COVID-19 pandemic, reenvisioning mental health through a pedagogy of unwellness—the recognition that we are all differentially unwell. In an intimate series of letters, she bears witness to Asian American unwellness up close and invites readers to recognize in it the shapes and sources of their own unwellness. Khúc draws linkages between student experience, the Asian immigrant family, the adjunctification of the university, and teaching methods pre- and post-COVID-19 to illuminate hidden roots of our collective shared investments in compulsory wellness and meritocracy. She reveals the university as a central node and engine of unwellness and argues that we can no longer do Asian American studies without Asian American mental health—and vice versa. Interspersed throughout the book are reflective activities, including original tarot cards, that enact the very pedagogy Khúc advances, offering readers alternative ways of being that divest from structures of unwellness and open new possibilities for collective care.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mental Health, Disability, Asian American, Race, Academia

272 pages, Hardcover

First published March 26, 2024

Reviews

[Brian]

This is a hard book for me to rate, so I'm not going to give a rating at all. There's a lot here that I liked, and if you're a college student or teach at a college then I think it's very much worth reading. Even if you're not, the first ~90 pages can still apply to you, as it's very easy to see how the dynamic between the university and its students mirrors that of any work organization/company and its employees. Those first few chapters were the strongest, by far.

But then over half of the book is devoted to two chapters that are solely about the exploitation of adjunct labor to support tenured faculty, and how to adjust one's teaching approach in order to build trust and support your students. For a book that starts off with a broad approach and appeal, it very quickly narrows.

I have other small qualms as well, although there's no question that Khúc made me think and engage with her ideas -- it was clearly effective, even if she constructs her argument in a way that makes any kind of rebuttal feel like I'm simply playing into the hands of ableism and meritocracy. But my biggest issue (and this is more on me than on Khúc) is that I thought this book was going to be a series of letters to her daughter discussing the plight of Asian Americans' mental health in a post-pandemic world. Instead, there is only one letter actually addressed to Elia (the first one, which is all of a page long), while the other letters are addressed to the reader, to students, or to faculty. In the end, this simply wasn't the book I thought it was going to be, especially with a title like Dear Elia.

[el · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Because if we are always differentially unwell, and always deserving of care, then healing is the endless process of care by which we try to make life feel more livable in all the ways we need, whenever we need." (21)

"'Asian cultural values' is simply an Orientalist, ridiculously simplistic, woefully inadequate analytic for engaging Asian American life." (48)

"But the university is an institution uniquely positioned to produce Asian American unwellness, because it is where the model minority intertwines mostly powerfully with ableist meritocracy, unwellness allowed to bloom in a discursive echo chamber under the careful 'care' of capitalist education." (48)

"What do we need to build, and from what unbearable worlds do we need an exit strategy?" (62)

"Our love language is buying into the American Dream, working ourselves to death, and asking our children to work themselves to death to achieve ideal personhood in that ideology. Our love language is model minoritization." (74)

[Magdalena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading about how Dr. Khúc structures her courses with her students’ mental health in mind was enlightening. Her approach sounds amazing and, unfortunately, remains rare at universities. Dr. Khúc should be a role model for her colleagues, and what she describes should be the standard of care that all universities across the U.S. strive for.

[Ruthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting thesis about what is wellness and what is not, with a focus on Asian Americans and academia. But I found it rang true for me, someone who has worked as a staff member in several universities. It’s helpful AND not sure how to change anything within the current structures of academia

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this at a sloth's pace but I'm telling myself it's what Dr. Khúc would have wanted 🦥😇 it's an Asian American Studies book but I truly think everybody (especially everybody in academia + education) should read it. Connecting the model minority racialization to ableism and disability justice is so brilliant. 100/10 stars, my copy is marked up and tear stained 🩵

[Akira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book in one day, and I must say that there were tears and anger as I read, with much relatability to the topics that Khuc brings that many seem to dismiss in academia. What stood out to me the most is the idea of how the model minority myth REEKS ableism. I have always thought of the model minority as a racist and micro-aggressive idea, but it is also ableist.

This book has put me in a position of uncomfortable (in a good way) seeing my privilege as an able-bodied Asian American woman. I cried as I kept screaming at my book, "Yes! That is so true! How come nobody has said that to me?" It's a very lonely and scary journey to be an Asian American studying English and Education, and I felt so heard by Khuc.

Thank you, Mimi Khuc, for writing this.

[aurelia-aurita · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a poignant book. cried so much.

[Trinity Gabato · Rating 5 out of 5]

So incredible ❤️

[Karen Kohoutek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. I'm obviously not the target audience--I'm a white woman literally named Karen--but there are so many fantastic insights about mental health (and how everyone is in a perpetual state of unwellness), about the nature of academia, about what the world would look like if we actually put health (of all kinds) first. She reframes so many concepts. It's a work of genius. Highly recommended!

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried. So goddamn much.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

truly recommend this for everyone, especially children of immigrants, Asian Americans and those with mental health experiences and neurodivergent abilities. I have worked through so much in therapy to understand my experiences but this book made me reevaluate how true my transformative healing justice and disability justice is if I can’t even give the grace to myself !! I also learned to rethink how immigrant familial culture has more to do with capitalism than actually bringing the culture 100% from the homeland wholesale. It’s so clear that Khuc speaks from experience and deeply listening to others, her queer feminist praxis centering unwell BIPOC students is very much needed in the field of disability and higher education. 🩷🩷

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so excited to write an essay on this I've listened to Mimi's talks on youtube and the way they speak reminds me a lot of Lorde and Hooks – two of my favourites. What an inspiration!

[KT · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshingly honest, thoughtful collection of essays on mental health in the context of Asian American experiences. This was exemplified in the penultimate chapter guiding the reader through the author's teaching of the intro to disability studies course before and during covid was particularly good in engaging students during a difficult time, practising care, and reflexive and collaborative pedagogy.
Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in contemporary Asian American mental health issues

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i sobbed reading this.mimi poignantly shows how asian american studies has and can save lives.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blew my mind and made me cry—and also practice some self-compassion. I feel like I have a lot to unlearn about ableism and meritocracy and also a little bit I can put into action in my capacity.

I don’t even remember how I found this book. Possibly while in search for zines on disability justice. I requested a copy for our library and I’m so glad I did. Also I love tarot cards featured in the book and the story behind these increased their impact—I wish they made another edition available.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone who teaches in higher ed should read this book.

[Aly Cigelnik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible. Will be purchasing my own physical copy to reread asap. A must read for anyone even thinking about going to grad school especially in the humanities

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ⭐

Kind of a range within 3.5 to 3.9 so rounding up to 4.

I think there are some good insights gathered in this book that can only really be collected from having the dialogue with students and fellow faculty.

If you have already been thinking about these topics, then this might not be the most groundbreaking book but it is a book that is able to put it into writing and be able to remind you to set aside time to think about these things while you go about your life. Reminders to take time to slow down, spend time thinking, reconstructing, and then maybe some hmm moments.

There are some interesting activities that are nice for a workshop setting.

[ASC Library]

305.894 Khu

[Kevix Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

a lot to consider.

[Selena]

Read part of this for class. It hit way too close to home.

[Jenny L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

i hope every student & educator will read this