The Astronaut Children of Dunbar Street: A Memoir

by Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho

Genres: Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

Expected publication September 22, 2026

Reviews

[theliterateleprechaun (on an Alaskan cruise)]

Interesting book mentioning places I'm familiar with and brought to mind the astronaut children I taught. I wish I'd had more foresight to check in on them more often.

[L Denis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read about this book in “BC Books” on the ferry and immediately ordered a copy from the publisher. It didn’t disappoint; I devoured it in two days. I’ve always wondered what it was like to be a child living in a house in Vancouver with only one or no parents living in the country with you. This book helped me understand that kind of childhood and how it shapes one forever. My conclusion was that Wiley and her Ma would never truly understand each other. Their points of reference were just too disparate. It also reminded me that people experience and express love in ways that cannot always be appreciated by the recipient.

[Sonia Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir is heart-breaking and real. Author Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho recalls emigrating to Canada, the challenges of settling (learning a new language, having officials failing to recognize her parents qualifications and experience, loss of community status) and her parents decision to leave their five children in Canada to return to Taiwan. The family was spread across continents, never to be whole again. I wholeheartedly recommend reading this.

[Patricia L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Absence a willing companion, the price we pay for love."
This is Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho's last line in her fabulously real memoir as an astronaut child on Dunbar Street.
Don't know what that means?
Read the book and you will find out.

The memoir is so well written, each chapter held me as a short story.
The book brought back memories of Expo 86, and helped explain an immigrant friend of my son's life.
He moved to Hong Kong but lucky for Canada Wiley still lives in Vancouver.