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ลูกครึ่ง: Only Half a Person: Essays and Short Stories about Identity
5/5
“Sharply scripted and hugely entertaining, with a bittersweet and very important message at its core, Only Half a Person is a biting indictment of society's approach to otherness and racial difference.”
- Matt McAvoy
When Rowland Grover asked his preschool teacher if he could ฉี่ (chi), she looked at him like he wasn’t speaking English. After holding it for too long, he peed his pants and realized he was different from everyone around him.
Being half-Thai, Rowland has faced curiosity and ridicule from polite and not-so-polite society alike. To his fellow Americans, many of whom couldn’t even find his native Idaho on a map, he could be Taiwanese or Mexican; in the land of his ethnic origin, he is just another ฝรั่ง (farang) who can’t speak the language. Now, after a lifetime struggling to find his identity, Rowland presents his hilarious, occasionally bittersweet social commentary – a laugh-out-loud yet thought-provoking memoir of essays, short stories, and parables.
This perfectly curated collection of Rowland’s musings and metaphors draws the reader deeper into the cynicism, comedy, and exasperation he has faced on his journey. At times a biting allegory on racial marginalization, at others a poignant exposé into the reality of “otherness”, ลูกครึ่ง: Only Half a Person is funny, relatable, and always entertaining. Tackled with humor and heart, Rowland dives into the depths to find himself and wonders if he’ll come up for air.
Perfect for fans of Me Talk Pretty One Day's humor and satire, and Fresh Off the Boat's story of finding oneself in the margins!
5/5 “Short, sharp, and genuinely funny, ลูกครึ่ง — Only Half a Person reminds us that identity isn’t a puzzle you solve once—it’s a joke you keep rewriting until it stops hurting.”
- Alex from Likely Story
10/10 “An incredibly insightful and engaging story that is so reflective of the American experience in this day and age.”
- Anthony Avina
"[Rowland has] always been a captivating writer and storyteller."
- Allie
"Humorous and relatable."
- Mary
"There's much to like about the story and your writing style, [but] I would lose the crude language."
- Rowland’s Dad
- Matt McAvoy
When Rowland Grover asked his preschool teacher if he could ฉี่ (chi), she looked at him like he wasn’t speaking English. After holding it for too long, he peed his pants and realized he was different from everyone around him.
Being half-Thai, Rowland has faced curiosity and ridicule from polite and not-so-polite society alike. To his fellow Americans, many of whom couldn’t even find his native Idaho on a map, he could be Taiwanese or Mexican; in the land of his ethnic origin, he is just another ฝรั่ง (farang) who can’t speak the language. Now, after a lifetime struggling to find his identity, Rowland presents his hilarious, occasionally bittersweet social commentary – a laugh-out-loud yet thought-provoking memoir of essays, short stories, and parables.
This perfectly curated collection of Rowland’s musings and metaphors draws the reader deeper into the cynicism, comedy, and exasperation he has faced on his journey. At times a biting allegory on racial marginalization, at others a poignant exposé into the reality of “otherness”, ลูกครึ่ง: Only Half a Person is funny, relatable, and always entertaining. Tackled with humor and heart, Rowland dives into the depths to find himself and wonders if he’ll come up for air.
Perfect for fans of Me Talk Pretty One Day's humor and satire, and Fresh Off the Boat's story of finding oneself in the margins!
5/5 “Short, sharp, and genuinely funny, ลูกครึ่ง — Only Half a Person reminds us that identity isn’t a puzzle you solve once—it’s a joke you keep rewriting until it stops hurting.”
- Alex from Likely Story
10/10 “An incredibly insightful and engaging story that is so reflective of the American experience in this day and age.”
- Anthony Avina
"[Rowland has] always been a captivating writer and storyteller."
- Allie
"Humorous and relatable."
- Mary
"There's much to like about the story and your writing style, [but] I would lose the crude language."
- Rowland’s Dad
189 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 20, 2025
1 person is currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Rowland Grover
1 book1 followerSince he was young, Rowland has loved to create stories. Whether that was using stuffed animals to portray the horror of war and class division or writing and drawing maps in a notebook for a fantasy story that was not a rip-off of any other popular series. Rowland’s debut book, ลูกครึ่ง: Only Half a Person, utilizes his love of story-telling to reflect on and analyze his life, race and ethnicity, culture, faith, family, and more.
Rowland Grover was born and raised in Idaho, which, believe it or not, is a real place in the United States. Starting in his late teens, he lived on and off in Thailand, China, and Taiwan for several years. Rowland graduated with a B.A. in International Studies because he had no life plan. Then, he enrolled at Chulalongkorn University to study Southeast Asia Area Studies, but he had to drop out because, quote, “no money.”
He currently lives in Taiwan with his wife, two children, and two cats. Besides unromantic walks on the beach, he enjoys playing video games and studying languages.
Rowland Grover was born and raised in Idaho, which, believe it or not, is a real place in the United States. Starting in his late teens, he lived on and off in Thailand, China, and Taiwan for several years. Rowland graduated with a B.A. in International Studies because he had no life plan. Then, he enrolled at Chulalongkorn University to study Southeast Asia Area Studies, but he had to drop out because, quote, “no money.”
He currently lives in Taiwan with his wife, two children, and two cats. Besides unromantic walks on the beach, he enjoys playing video games and studying languages.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 3, 2025
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I must say that reading this book was an eye opening experience. The author grew up in a similar environment as myself. Parents with similar parenting style, and similar geographic and religious upbringing (Southeast Idaho forever!) Yet, I was really shocked how different our experiences with these environments were. Grover’s reflections are not only compelling but often quietly revelatory, as they explore the subtle emotional fault lines that shape who we become.
July 1, 2025
Sharply scripted and hugely entertaining, with a bittersweet and very important message at its core, Only Half a Person is a biting indictment of society’s approach to otherness and racial difference. But the real star of this book is how Rowland Grover goes about delivering the allegory, in multiple styles; he is excellent. The book is a collection of essays, memoirs, short stories, fables and parables – with outright as well as more subtle themes, some of which were perhaps never intended for the public eye – compiled perfectly into this pleasing volume, which intensifies in its cynicism the more you read. From this patchwork of articles, Rowland explains in increasing depth life as an American of half Thai descent, and the prejudice he faced not just from “full” Americans growing up in Idaho, but also from Thai people on his mission there. The misunderstandings and racial jibing which he had no choice but to take in good humour as a youngster never went away; the questions people feel entitled to ask just seemed to get more politely acceptable in adult society. As the reader, you grasp fully the frustration Rowland must have felt, and his greater understanding of the subliminal impact on him as he grew older, particularly when learning about his own mother’s experience.
It appears, and you do like to think, that Rowland accepts and embraces his identity more now he’s older, with a family of his own. The fact is we are all from a melting pot of migration, certainly in his native United States; some are just more physically noticeable than others, with narrower eyes or dark skin. Running throughout the book is Rowland’s question of his faith (Rowland and his family are Mormons), which adds an additional, perhaps metaphorical layer to the “difference” alluded to, which has had a subtle yet collectively profound effect on his life.
This is not an explicit race-baiting, angry rant against the evils of the white man; it is a very cleverly and clinically curated number of the author’s personal creative work, forming a memoir of sorts, in a suggestive way. They are fun and entertaining, and incredibly well written; the fact is, you could read the tales and enjoy them with or without the racial undertone. But it’s always there, just like it appears to have been throughout Rowland’s life, and he has no shame in presenting it directly to the reader in the closing articles, set in a hypothetical future. Most of all, though, it is a very good book of multiple styles, and great fun to read, with some cracking humour, some self-deprecating and some not. Sure, it’s got an important message, but read it even if social allegory and faith books are not your bag. You’ll enjoy it very much, I’m sure. Highly recommended.
It appears, and you do like to think, that Rowland accepts and embraces his identity more now he’s older, with a family of his own. The fact is we are all from a melting pot of migration, certainly in his native United States; some are just more physically noticeable than others, with narrower eyes or dark skin. Running throughout the book is Rowland’s question of his faith (Rowland and his family are Mormons), which adds an additional, perhaps metaphorical layer to the “difference” alluded to, which has had a subtle yet collectively profound effect on his life.
This is not an explicit race-baiting, angry rant against the evils of the white man; it is a very cleverly and clinically curated number of the author’s personal creative work, forming a memoir of sorts, in a suggestive way. They are fun and entertaining, and incredibly well written; the fact is, you could read the tales and enjoy them with or without the racial undertone. But it’s always there, just like it appears to have been throughout Rowland’s life, and he has no shame in presenting it directly to the reader in the closing articles, set in a hypothetical future. Most of all, though, it is a very good book of multiple styles, and great fun to read, with some cracking humour, some self-deprecating and some not. Sure, it’s got an important message, but read it even if social allegory and faith books are not your bag. You’ll enjoy it very much, I’m sure. Highly recommended.
July 19, 2025
Rowland Grover’s ลูกครึ่ง — Only Half a Person feels less like a polished memoir and more like an afternoon swapping stories with a friend who finally trusts you enough to laugh at the worst parts. It kicks off with a preschool mishap in rural Idaho—one short misunderstanding, one very damp pair of pants—and the sudden realization that nobody around him speaks the mix of Thai and English rattling in his head. That flash of embarrassment becomes the thread he keeps tugging for the rest of the book.
Each chapter lands like a quick comedy bit that refuses to fade to black. Grover bounces from teachers butchering his mum’s Thai name to a fast-food customer who labels every brown worker “Mexican” and to a missionary buddy daring him to chew kaffir-lime leaves just to watch him squirm. The punch lines are tight, but they always swing back and nick something tender—pride, doubt, the weird ache of feeling both inside and outside at the same time.
Halfway through, the jokes stretch into essays and open letters. A riff on “authentic” pad thai turns into a quiet rebuke of people who gate-keep culture; another piece answers a reader who calls Asian food “weird,” and the patience in that reply is razor-thin. By the time Grover writes a mock cease-and-desist to his future haters, the laughs carry a distinct after-taste of anger and relief—like finally exhaling after holding it far too long. The real hook, though, is his voice. Grover flips between English, transliterated Thai, and full Thai script without italicizing or apologizing. The code-switching isn’t there for flair; it’s there because that’s simply how his thoughts land on the page. Reading it feels a bit like being handed earbuds and invited into the soundtrack of his brain—off-beat, bilingual, and impossible to file under one neat label.
Find my full review here: https://likelystory.blog/2025/07/19/r...
Each chapter lands like a quick comedy bit that refuses to fade to black. Grover bounces from teachers butchering his mum’s Thai name to a fast-food customer who labels every brown worker “Mexican” and to a missionary buddy daring him to chew kaffir-lime leaves just to watch him squirm. The punch lines are tight, but they always swing back and nick something tender—pride, doubt, the weird ache of feeling both inside and outside at the same time.
Halfway through, the jokes stretch into essays and open letters. A riff on “authentic” pad thai turns into a quiet rebuke of people who gate-keep culture; another piece answers a reader who calls Asian food “weird,” and the patience in that reply is razor-thin. By the time Grover writes a mock cease-and-desist to his future haters, the laughs carry a distinct after-taste of anger and relief—like finally exhaling after holding it far too long. The real hook, though, is his voice. Grover flips between English, transliterated Thai, and full Thai script without italicizing or apologizing. The code-switching isn’t there for flair; it’s there because that’s simply how his thoughts land on the page. Reading it feels a bit like being handed earbuds and invited into the soundtrack of his brain—off-beat, bilingual, and impossible to file under one neat label.
Find my full review here: https://likelystory.blog/2025/07/19/r...
July 15, 2025
The Review
This was an incredibly insightful and engaging story that is so reflective of the American experience in this day and age. Far too often, people in the United States forget just how much of a cultural melting pot the nation has become, especially when cruel actions and judgments dominate the news cycle most of the time. The honesty and relatability in the author’s writing style allowed the personal experiences and lessons the author learned throughout their life to resonate deeply as the reader delved further into this book.
The rich cultural examination presented in the author’s book was the prominent driving force behind these essays and short stories. The everyday experiences the author brought to life, from a childhood of misidentification, differing customs, and a lingering sense of otherness that children often inadvertently foster, to shared faith and much more, showcased both the differences and shared life that families of differing cultures can form, while also bringing an awareness of what makes us all different at the same time.
The Verdict
Thought-provoking, engaging, and with a sense of heart and humor, author Rowland Grover’s “ลูกครึ่ง: Only Half a Person: Essays and Short Stories about Identity” is a must-read memoir meets nonfiction essay collection. The witty style of writing the author employs and the depth of introspective honesty that the author’s experiences bring to life on the page will stay with readers long after the book ends.
This was an incredibly insightful and engaging story that is so reflective of the American experience in this day and age. Far too often, people in the United States forget just how much of a cultural melting pot the nation has become, especially when cruel actions and judgments dominate the news cycle most of the time. The honesty and relatability in the author’s writing style allowed the personal experiences and lessons the author learned throughout their life to resonate deeply as the reader delved further into this book.
The rich cultural examination presented in the author’s book was the prominent driving force behind these essays and short stories. The everyday experiences the author brought to life, from a childhood of misidentification, differing customs, and a lingering sense of otherness that children often inadvertently foster, to shared faith and much more, showcased both the differences and shared life that families of differing cultures can form, while also bringing an awareness of what makes us all different at the same time.
The Verdict
Thought-provoking, engaging, and with a sense of heart and humor, author Rowland Grover’s “ลูกครึ่ง: Only Half a Person: Essays and Short Stories about Identity” is a must-read memoir meets nonfiction essay collection. The witty style of writing the author employs and the depth of introspective honesty that the author’s experiences bring to life on the page will stay with readers long after the book ends.
July 26, 2025
Rowland Grover is an insightful author who focuses on his own experiences that are both good and bad about his White-Thai heritage while growing up in Idaho. Only Half a Person is about social awkwardness, unfairness, and how people can be completely wrong or rude without realizing it. A good chunk of life is about learning to get through the poop, cockroaches, and ugliness that comes our way. How can someone mistake someone with an Asian complexion for a Mexican? Why do people call the police because of their appearance? I don’t agree with all of his conclusions, but is an excellent book of memories.
July 29, 2025
I received an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
I'm honored to make an appearance in this book! Rowland Grover was my first mission companion in Thailand. Grover's such a good storyteller that I actually remember some of the stories in this book when he told them to me on the mission. (I’ll also be waiting patiently for his future work of retelling the plot of Bioshock) Hearing them again, now told with deliberation, vulnerability and greater reflection, was a real joy.
Overall, this was a great read. It's a very focused personal account of growing up struggling with identity in an world that ranges from hostile xenophobia to benign ignorance. The story unfolds through a creative mix of vignettes, recipes, fables, and other imaginative forms. Very fun. It left me feeling nostalgic for a life I never lived but could relate to because of its emotional honesty.
One standout story to me was titled The Seed. It made me heartbroken and hopeful at the same time. The book is worth it for this story alone but definitely read the whole thing as well.
I'm honored to make an appearance in this book! Rowland Grover was my first mission companion in Thailand. Grover's such a good storyteller that I actually remember some of the stories in this book when he told them to me on the mission. (I’ll also be waiting patiently for his future work of retelling the plot of Bioshock) Hearing them again, now told with deliberation, vulnerability and greater reflection, was a real joy.
Overall, this was a great read. It's a very focused personal account of growing up struggling with identity in an world that ranges from hostile xenophobia to benign ignorance. The story unfolds through a creative mix of vignettes, recipes, fables, and other imaginative forms. Very fun. It left me feeling nostalgic for a life I never lived but could relate to because of its emotional honesty.
One standout story to me was titled The Seed. It made me heartbroken and hopeful at the same time. The book is worth it for this story alone but definitely read the whole thing as well.
July 31, 2025
Only Half a Person is beautiful, thought-provoking reflection on identity, culture, religion, and race. A mixture of short stories and personal essays that make you laugh and pull at your heart strings. I loved that reading this felt like experiencing the journey of self-acceptance alongside the author. Highly recommend!
August 12, 2025
Lots of entertaining stories that also have insights into interactions between those of different race than us and how it affects them. Some are just ignorant and mean spirited, but most just don't really think about what they say. The author seems to have learned a great deal and grown from his experiences too.Good chance for us all to learn to be better to each other.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews