Phoenix Girl

by Michelle Yang

After Michelle emigrates to the U.S. from the tight-knit ethnic Chinese enclave in Incheon, South Korea, she must adapt quickly to survive. With a dominant, impulsive father in charge-who protects the family from everyone but himself-and a mother who never finds her power, Michelle craves safety and security. 



Like tumbleweeds, Michelle and her family bump across the country in a Ford Dixie van before settling in Phoenix, Arizona. Working at their family-owned Chinese takeout restaurant by age 12, Michelle drowns in pressures beyond her age. 



Ultimately, Michelle finds love, not only the romantic kind, but an enduring self-love, which allows her to heal, to never give up, and to thrive while successfully managing what later becomes a bipolar 1 diagnosis.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

340 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 16, 2025

About the author

Michelle Yang is an advocate whose writings on the intersection of Asian American identity, body image, and mental health have been featured in NBC News, CNN, InStyle, and Reader’s Digest. Michelle has also been featured on NPR, Washington Post, and The Seattle Times for her advocacy. She loves exploring new parts of her new home state of Michigan with her family and smoking up the kitchen with spicy recipes. You can find her on michelleyangwriter.com or on Instagram @michelleyangwriter.

Reviews

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this book down. I cannot believe how cleanly and poetically Yang strung so many different elements together into this beautiful perfect package. There were elements of danger and warmth, side by side. Parts of it felt like a thriller, with violence and bruises. Parts felt like a warm hug, capturing the richness of family, nostalgia, and core food memories. It was part travel memoir - with the sheer number of countries spanned and taken in in loving detail. In other parts I was giddy and emotional following the painful drama of cruel unrequited love. This story refuses to be simplified to any one genre. I love it.

I myself have major depressive disorder, having had to take off months to recover from intense episodes. While depression is painfully common, I had not found any type of resource that was grounded in healing in either an immigrant or Asian context. I was born in the US, just a few years after my parents immigrated from Taiwan. I too experienced the pressure for perfection - and to stop taking medication as soon as possible. It was confusing and stressful navigating my new found mental health issues with the stigma and shame my family reflected back to me. I too was shocked to learn that you can take time off to heal and jump back in. I too experienced the fear of telling anyone about my disorder, telling the wrong people early on, and believing myself unworthy of love or motherhood. I really wish I had a book like this a decade ago. Thank you for sharing your story.

[Cal Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful memoir that’s so vulnerable and honest. If you’ve wanted to better understand mental health and bipolar diagnoses (and what it takes to even get diagnosed), the author does a solid job of sharing her experiences. The amount of challenges in her family and how she’s able to give perspective is also admirable. I don’t know the author personally, but feel so honored to even have learned about her experiences thru the book. It’s raw, informative, heart breaking, and inspiring.

[Teresa Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn’t fully understood what an episode of mania was like until I read Phoenix Girl. Yang takes us on a journey deep inside her mind, illustrating the logic and self-talk of someone discovering and coping with bipolar disorder.

This is a beautiful book about growing up as an immigrant in the US, about finding one’s own unique voice by navigating the conflicting expectations from family and US culture. It’s about self love and overcoming the stigmas of mental illness and fat phobia.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't wait to gift this book to everyone I know.

I'm friends with a fair number of writers. Some, like Michelle, are ones who I love like sisters. So yeah, I may be biased. However, I'm also the editor of an academic journal, so I professionally and regularly critique the writing of people I know and love. This book is genuinely, dare I say objectively, excellent. The way superficially unrelated memories are juxtaposed throughout the narrative is masterful. The reader goes on a journey of discovery that has a depth and emotionality to it that brings that journey alive. Bonus points for being educated along the way on the Chinese diasporic experience, and East Asian political history more generally. And, it's another one of those great memoirs by women that all men need to read.

I happened to read this at the same time that I read the novel, Butter, by Asako Yuzuki. Butter isn't a memoir, and so this isn't the fairest of comparisons, but in my opinion Phoenix Girl was just infinitely more interesting and enjoyable. I also read Phoenix Girl in airplanes and airports, which officially makes it my number one airport book and summer reading recommendation.

[Vania McAllister · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phoenix Girl is the beautifully-written story of the Asian American experience, the recollection of a Bipolar I diagnosis, and the journey to find love in every sense of the word. Michelle takes you with her from her highest highs, to her lowest lows and back again. It is heartbreaking and triumphant, honest and true. It is a story of determination, grit and hope, and is a must read.

[April Baer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michelle is so delicate and gentle with herself, and so resolutely honest about her life in America. Lots of complexity around her parents, who sound like they’ve been through a lot, but who also had a very harsh way about them. I’d love to read more by her.

[Mark Wall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brave, Honest, and Really Sticks With You

Review:
Phoenix Girl is one of those rare books that stays with you. Michelle Yang tells her story with so much honesty and heart — covering everything from growing up in an immigrant family where she had to act as a translator and advocate from a young age to her experience and significant challenges navigating life suffering from bipolar disorder.

She also doesn’t shy away from the harder stuff — like living with a father whose anger could be volatile and sometimes violent. That part of her childhood shaped a lot, and she writes about it in a way that’s clear, raw, and deeply human.

This memoir isn’t just about survival — it’s about making sense of where you come from and finding the courage to speak up. It’s powerful, eye-opening, and so needed.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A captivating memoir that provides vitally important representation. Michelle Yang provides a voice for so many people who don't see themselves represented in media: Chinese American immigrants, survivors of childhood abuse and sexual violence, plus size women of color, and individuals living with mental illness. She presents the other side of the Asian American experience not captured by the model minority myth. She worked long hours in her parents' restaurant while enduring daily abuse by her father. Her journey with bipolar disorder is a painful but ultimately hopeful one. She survived highly disruptive manic and depressive episodes as well as a great deal of cultural stigma from family members. These contributed to self stigma and fears she could never find love due to her illness. As the title indicates, her story has a happy ending. She attains significant academic and professional success and becomes a happy wife and mother. I highly recommend this book to anyone living with mental illness, trauma, or body image issues or anyone who wants to understand these challenges in the context of the immigrant experience. This book promises those who are struggling that no matter their past and present difficulties, a bright future is possible. 

[Carol Meerschaert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ask your local library to get this book. I did.

Michelle’s warmth, intelligence, and her amazing ability to synthesize complicated situations into enjoyable prose are on every page of this book.

You might personally relate to the struggle to fit in, the challenging journey to obtain the correct mental health diagnosis and the right meds to help you, the conundrum of loving your parent while they do not behave in lovable ways. If Michelle’s sorry helps you feel seen, great. If her story helps you understand others that is great too.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This courageous memoir is full of so much heart. Yang’s story, which takes us to Korea, China, the U.S. and beyond, recounts the journeys she’s taken to get to a place of self-knowledge and self-acceptance. She doesn’t shy away from the complexities of mental health, body image, and what it means to be Asian American. All of this, combined with nuanced portraits of her family and well-paced storytelling, makes this a memoir that leaves you with so much to think about. I read it all in one sitting!

[Jennica Dotson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot recommend this highly enough. Always heartfelt and often harrowing, Phoenix Girl hardly allowed me to put it down. I blazed through reading it in just a few days.

This real-life story explores so many deep and thought-provoking topics: the Asian American immigrant experience, trauma, abuse in the home (and its "justifications"), fatness, and of course, bipolar disorder. That may sound like a lot for one book to tackle, but it all fits and works together. Yang expertly weaves together stories from various times in her life, all while continuing a fairly chronological narrative that allows the reader to understand and track events over time.

Importantly, as heavy as its subject matter can be at times, Phoenix Girl is ultimately a story about love, hope, and happy endings. I found Yang's story remarkable and inspiring, and I could not have been more engaged throughout.

[Rebecca D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was hard to put down! With heartbreaking candor, Michelle Yang recounts her lifelong struggles as a brilliant young woman with bipolar disorder whose cries for help were too long disregarded and silenced. Her tenacity and strength of spirit are inspiring, especially considering the perfectionism, body-shaming and abuse she survived in her rigidly traditional family of origin, as well as in her first romantic attachments. She serves as a role model for any woman who has had to fight for her sanity, her self-worth, and her voice.

[Nikki Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully personal memoir.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

What surprised me the most about this memoir was how the writing was unbelievably beautiful. The “characters” were written in a way that I felt I knew them from multiple angles and not just the viewpoint of the author. The book was rich with description and I wasn’t expecting that. And then it’s a story about bi polar disorder. A true clear written account, something I’ve never read in such a clear and vulnerable way. I will be forever grateful for Michelle for teaching me about her world and the resiliency of life and the power of work. Work on ourselves and the work it takes to love our own experiences.

[Albert Shim · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the helly I cried so much at the ending

[Barbara Gulbis · Rating 5 out of 5]

outstanding a real page turner

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phoenix Girl is an inspiring, emotional telling of the author’s deeply personal story, the good, the difficult, and everything in between. It is also exceptionally well-written and a page-turner. I picked it up on a Sunday morning and was done reading it by Monday night. Her honesty, self-reflection, and insight make it a compellingly human story. Can’t recommend this highly enough!

[ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot from reading this book. It’s honest, descriptive, and insightful in its portrayal of the intersection of an immigrant family and mental health. Plus I love a happy ending :) we need more stories like this!

[Brittany]

Admittedly, I am not well versed in bipolar disorders, so I went into this not knowing much! This was an illuminating memoir from Michelle Yang, not just on what it takes to get diagnosed with BPD, but also about her familial dynamics, being part of the Asian American diaspora, romantic and self-love, and more.

I really appreciated the bravery Michelle Yang brought to this memoir with her candor and openness. This was the first time I have read her work, and I highly recommend it. It was evocative, and ultimately, quite moving. I'm really proud of her and I think this book was a privilege to read.

Thank you to the author for the ARC and for so generously and beautifully sharing her story with us <3

[Hillary Slawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so moved by this memoir. I learned so much about living with bipolar disorder and how hard it can be to diagnose, as well as how family members can be in such denial. This book is an insightful journey through one woman's childhood as a young immigrant from Korea, and what it is like to grow up between the worlds of her parents culture and the US.
I found the format of short chapters to be spellbinding. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. I so appreciate the author's vulnerability and candor in her memoir. It really helped me understand so much more about living a full and vibrant life while working through mental health in our healthcare system.

[A.Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir pulled me in with the heartfelt storytelling right up there with the best of fiction. Seriously. Some memoirs are too linear, too cerebral, too personal in a closed-off sense. Everything about Michelle's offering of self and story in her memoir allows for connection. I couldn't put it down. I was sneaking chapters at work, while doing chores, waiting in the car.

If you enjoyed The Glass Castle, or fiction like The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, or a Mango-Shaped Space, you'll be delighted by Phoenix Girl.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poignant true story of the intersection of culture, body-image, and mental health. For everyone who has ever felt less-than and shame for not being stereotypically "normal", you are not alone. Despite the fear of what others will think, in reality I suspect the people who truly matter feel only empathy, compassion, and the strongest desire to shelter you in a huge hug.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michelle takes us with her on a journey traversing continents and cultures while navigating her mental health challenges. A bold, poignant story, told first person with vivid imagery. Thank you for gifting the world with your story and being a leading voice for both those who struggle with their own mental health challenges and their loved ones who seek to understand.

[Kyunghee Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A work of advocacy from beginning to end. While I have read memoirs that intertwine mental health, identity, and the Asian American experience, there quite isn’t one that is full of hope. We need more stories like Michelle's. This memoir is tender, fierce, beautiful, and truthful.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this memoir. The writing is both elegant and accessible with easy to read short chapters. The reader gets to navigate the many challenges in the author's life, but also gets the opportunity to celebrate in the end. A really lovely read, highly recommend!

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

The vulnerability of this memoir allowed me to feel fully welcomed into Michelle’s story, and to relate to her drive to fully know, and accept herself. Left me rooting for Michelle, myself, and all of us! Highly recommend!

[A.H. Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haiku review:
Unflinching memoir
Of struggle, courage, healing
Couldn't put it down

[Andrew J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a triumph of the human spirit.

It’s well written but easy to read.
Poignant and emotional.
Fascinating and unique.

Don’t read the review, GO GET THIS BOOK!

Thank me later.

[Simone T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am grateful for this author and this book.