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American Lives
This Jade World
2022 Book of the Year Award from the Chicago Writers Association
2022 Eric Hoffer Book Awards Finalist in Memoir
2021 Foreword Indies Finalist
This Jade World centers on a Thai American who has gone through a series of life changes. Ira Sukrungruang married young to an older poet. On their twelfth anniversary, he received a letter asking for a divorce, sending him into a despairing spiral. How would he define himself when he was suddenly without the person who shaped and helped mold him into the person he is?
After all these years, he asked himself what he wanted and found no answer. He did not even know what wanting meant. And so, in the year between his annual visits to Thailand to see his family, he gave in to urges, both physical and emotional; found comfort in the body, many bodies; fought off the impulse to disappear, to vanish; until he arrived at some modicum of understanding. During this time, he sought to obliterate the stereotype of the sexless Asian man and began to imagine a new life with new possibilities.
Through ancient temples and the lush greenery of Thailand, to the confines of a stranger’s bed and a devouring couch, This Jade World chronicles a year of mishap, exploration and experimentation, self-discovery, and eventually, healing. It questions the very nature of love and heartbreak, uncovering the vulnerability of being human.
2022 Eric Hoffer Book Awards Finalist in Memoir
2021 Foreword Indies Finalist
This Jade World centers on a Thai American who has gone through a series of life changes. Ira Sukrungruang married young to an older poet. On their twelfth anniversary, he received a letter asking for a divorce, sending him into a despairing spiral. How would he define himself when he was suddenly without the person who shaped and helped mold him into the person he is?
After all these years, he asked himself what he wanted and found no answer. He did not even know what wanting meant. And so, in the year between his annual visits to Thailand to see his family, he gave in to urges, both physical and emotional; found comfort in the body, many bodies; fought off the impulse to disappear, to vanish; until he arrived at some modicum of understanding. During this time, he sought to obliterate the stereotype of the sexless Asian man and began to imagine a new life with new possibilities.
Through ancient temples and the lush greenery of Thailand, to the confines of a stranger’s bed and a devouring couch, This Jade World chronicles a year of mishap, exploration and experimentation, self-discovery, and eventually, healing. It questions the very nature of love and heartbreak, uncovering the vulnerability of being human.
- GenresMemoir
280 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2021
9 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
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October 16, 2024Always such a pleasure to get to sit down and talk to writers about their work/process and current interests in writing.
Sukrungruang was a delight to listen and talk to.
Sukrungruang was a delight to listen and talk to.
November 1, 2021
The American Lives series by the University of Nebraska Press brings the multitudes of life in America. The title This Jade World is a beautiful metaphor for Ira’s life back home in Thailand, a country from which he hails from which looks green when looked at from the sky just like the colour of a jade stone. As the son of Thai immigrants, his life has been revolving around the United States and the annual summer holidays in Thailand. Ira Sukrungruang’s memoir begins in a comic tone that mocks life itself, with a scene of him being in the same room with a woman who was not his ex-wife, for the first time sleeping with someone he met online through dating sites.
But then, there are honesties in Ira’s story, of describing his vulnerabilities post-divorce, and his difficulties in accepting how his body looks like, much less with his inferiority complex about his Asian identities that shielded his confidence to date women. Ira’s story is about accepting the human conditions, our vulnerabilities, the complex situation that befalls people even when they have already done their best, such as in the marriage between him and his ex-wife, Katie. Ira’s healing process comes from the acceptance that sometimes things just couldn’t work, about letting go, and there are many Buddhism values incorporated in this memoir that does not sound forced.
I think this book will be relatable for someone who is having trouble organising his/her life after making a big decision, or someone who has just broken up or is confronting a post-divorce situation. Ira’s story is a story of healing, of finding a grip back on life after a thunderstorm. Not all parts of the stories are sad. Ira’s ability as a poet is shown here in his lyrical description of his breaking marriage, while at times he could also wittily throw funny and comical remarks to change the tone of his story. It’s also about recognising our fear of loneliness as human beings, the yearning to be touched by someone else, and finding one’s place in this world.
But then, there are honesties in Ira’s story, of describing his vulnerabilities post-divorce, and his difficulties in accepting how his body looks like, much less with his inferiority complex about his Asian identities that shielded his confidence to date women. Ira’s story is about accepting the human conditions, our vulnerabilities, the complex situation that befalls people even when they have already done their best, such as in the marriage between him and his ex-wife, Katie. Ira’s healing process comes from the acceptance that sometimes things just couldn’t work, about letting go, and there are many Buddhism values incorporated in this memoir that does not sound forced.
I think this book will be relatable for someone who is having trouble organising his/her life after making a big decision, or someone who has just broken up or is confronting a post-divorce situation. Ira’s story is a story of healing, of finding a grip back on life after a thunderstorm. Not all parts of the stories are sad. Ira’s ability as a poet is shown here in his lyrical description of his breaking marriage, while at times he could also wittily throw funny and comical remarks to change the tone of his story. It’s also about recognising our fear of loneliness as human beings, the yearning to be touched by someone else, and finding one’s place in this world.
March 31, 2022
This Jade World by Ira Sukrungruang is a memoir and collection of essays dealing with many topics: love, heartbreak, divorce, travel, culture, the meaning of home, family, body image, sex, writing, nature, friendship and the longing to have a place in the world.
Ira's writing was delightful, powerful, sincere, vulnerable and intimate. I loved reading about his yearly visits to Thailand, his parent's home country, and Ira's mother and Aunty Sue and their strong friendship. Some of my favorite essays were: Stupid Men, The Red Balloon, What I Want, Ruins, Fortune, Lesbians, Michael Chang, and At the Border.
Ira's writing was delightful, powerful, sincere, vulnerable and intimate. I loved reading about his yearly visits to Thailand, his parent's home country, and Ira's mother and Aunty Sue and their strong friendship. Some of my favorite essays were: Stupid Men, The Red Balloon, What I Want, Ruins, Fortune, Lesbians, Michael Chang, and At the Border.
July 22, 2021
Navigating life after divorce as a Thai man, Sukrungruang tells his story in a series of themes, depicting his past and present life. Although he jumps around timelines often, the book is cohesive and centers around the challenges that he has encountered in family and romantic relationships. He also writes about his body image issues and feeling inadequate. He is honest and vulnerable. There are amazing descriptions of the food and atmosphere of Thailand and depictions of his family members as eccentric, with the best of intentions. Throughout this journey, he learns about who he is and what he wants in life. Only then is he is able to start truly accepting and loving himself.
Thanks to University of Nebraska Press for sending me an ARC.
Thanks to University of Nebraska Press for sending me an ARC.
May 4, 2022
I read "This Jade World" twice-- once for the story, second to relish Sukrungruang's incredible command of language. In this memoir, we journey with the writer as he grapples with the end of a troubled marriage, a long recovery from heartbreak and disappointment, and his discovery of new love that will frame a new life. Sukrungrunag is by turns funny, engaging, pathologically honest, and painfully self-critical but always engaging. His prose is as magnetic as it is moving. Don't miss this one: it's a journey towards joy and fulfillment, and so very inspiring.
December 2, 2021
It has taken me awhile to put my thoughts in order about this book, mostly because of how much it affected me on a personal level. Full disclosure: I know Ira and his muses: Deedra and Bodhi. Now I know them on a much deeper level thanks to this book.
This is an intimate look into a relationship I saw developing early on. I remember the day, sitting in the sun on the USF campus, when I asked Deedra, "So what's going on with you and Ira?" and she gave a sheepish grin in reply.
What I didn't know was the path Ira had to take to get to her and, after reading this, I realized our troubles are similar in spirit if not in deed. This is a confession as much as a love story. It is a mea culpa, a tribute to motherhood, and the fulfillment of a dream in the eyes of a child.
But I may be biased.
This is an intimate look into a relationship I saw developing early on. I remember the day, sitting in the sun on the USF campus, when I asked Deedra, "So what's going on with you and Ira?" and she gave a sheepish grin in reply.
What I didn't know was the path Ira had to take to get to her and, after reading this, I realized our troubles are similar in spirit if not in deed. This is a confession as much as a love story. It is a mea culpa, a tribute to motherhood, and the fulfillment of a dream in the eyes of a child.
But I may be biased.
August 22, 2025
I enjoyed these stories that honestly dealt with straddling two worlds and carrying your imperfections and insecurities throughout one’s life and relationships.
November 18, 2021
Thank you @mindbuckmediapub, @univnebpress and @sukrungruang for the [gifted] ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This Jade World is a collection of Ira Sukrungruang’s reflections on his 12 year marriage that ended in divorce and the path he took to healing and rediscovering himself.
You can tell that he is a creative writing professor as his prose is lyrical and gorgeous. This Jade World is a collection of vignettes that are woven masterfully together. He switches between the past and his current annual trip to Thailand to visit his family. His writing is raw and emotional.
I loved the scenes with his mother and his Aunty Sue who were both deeply caring but offered comic relief at times. And his descriptions of food left my stomach growling.
This Jade World is out now!
This Jade World is a collection of Ira Sukrungruang’s reflections on his 12 year marriage that ended in divorce and the path he took to healing and rediscovering himself.
You can tell that he is a creative writing professor as his prose is lyrical and gorgeous. This Jade World is a collection of vignettes that are woven masterfully together. He switches between the past and his current annual trip to Thailand to visit his family. His writing is raw and emotional.
I loved the scenes with his mother and his Aunty Sue who were both deeply caring but offered comic relief at times. And his descriptions of food left my stomach growling.
This Jade World is out now!
October 27, 2021
This is an absolutely stunning collection of essays. Deeply intimate, Sukrungruang writes about the body in a way very few male authors do and it's lovely to see. The essays in this collection are about loss, longing, and the possibility of better days during hard times.
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October 24, 2021Beautifully written, honest and vulnerable, with amazing descriptions of food and Thai culture. A really close attention to both macro- and micro-level themes--the personal, the cultural, the local, the international--makes it a memorable book.
October 20, 2021
If you're wanting to read a book that is full of beautiful writing, touching and profound observations, fascinating, funny people, and a happy ending, I highly suggest you read THIS JADE WORLD.
October 4, 2021
"This Jade World" provides readers with an intimate look at the grief and longing that follows Sukrungruang's divorce. The honest memoir hones in on small details, like stopping to photograph flowers that he sends to his current wife, his fury over when he's fat, his lunch after his ex-wife (then current) picks him up at the airport after his travel to Thailand, where she emailed him the break up missive while he was staying with family on their wedding anniversary, and how they have remained close friends, his online dating that seems excessive and exhaustive, and his memories from his annual visits to Thailand. For three years, he more or less ignored his elderly father, then finally reconnects with him on this last visit where much of the memoir takes place, hinting about their similarities, but never really delving into why he cut his father out because, from what we see in this encounter, is a father who is not only proud of his only son, but who cares deeply about his son, and one has to wonder when he gives him a fortune reading, if he makes it so hopeful regardless of what's in his stars to keep his son moving forward with the woman he's currently dating.
I loved the sections with his aunt and mother, their lively conversations, the way they argue, the way they care for each other. To some degree, even though I'm glad he remarried and now has a son, I almost wish the memoir didn't include his new wife, but perhaps that would have complicated that relationship, or perhaps he wanted to write a memoir that showed his love for the women in his life, his mother, his aunt, his cousin, and two wives.
The chapters are short, lyrical, humorous, and unexpected.
I loved the sections with his aunt and mother, their lively conversations, the way they argue, the way they care for each other. To some degree, even though I'm glad he remarried and now has a son, I almost wish the memoir didn't include his new wife, but perhaps that would have complicated that relationship, or perhaps he wanted to write a memoir that showed his love for the women in his life, his mother, his aunt, his cousin, and two wives.
The chapters are short, lyrical, humorous, and unexpected.
August 21, 2022
Ira Sukrungruang tells the story of the slow unravelling of a once good marriage against the background of the story of his extended family in Thailand. Born in the US, and raised by Thai parents in Chicago, he marries a White Iowa woman at a relatively young age of 21. At first it was good, and then it was complicated, and then, over 15 years, it began to unwind.
On an extended visit to Thailand, the author wanders the halls of memory, showing the good times and the beauty of the past, and hunting for the moments when the cracks began to appear. In the aftermath of the marriage we read vivid portraits of sexual ramblings and unsatisfying liaisons.
As he takes us through forlorn efforts to understand himself and his marriage, the unrestrained and characteristically Thai commentary of his family, composed largely of a great panel of opinionated Thai aunts, help him and us find perspective. They comment on his life and take us around Thailand and Bangkok. In these wanderings Thai culture and Thailand itself become central to the story, as we explore its culinary richness and its olfactory and visual intensity.
While he declines a masseuse's offer of a happy ending, he does offer the reader a more conventional, but very genuine, happy ending.
This is a lyrical memoir of divorce, Thailand, and the hope that comes with new love.
On an extended visit to Thailand, the author wanders the halls of memory, showing the good times and the beauty of the past, and hunting for the moments when the cracks began to appear. In the aftermath of the marriage we read vivid portraits of sexual ramblings and unsatisfying liaisons.
As he takes us through forlorn efforts to understand himself and his marriage, the unrestrained and characteristically Thai commentary of his family, composed largely of a great panel of opinionated Thai aunts, help him and us find perspective. They comment on his life and take us around Thailand and Bangkok. In these wanderings Thai culture and Thailand itself become central to the story, as we explore its culinary richness and its olfactory and visual intensity.
While he declines a masseuse's offer of a happy ending, he does offer the reader a more conventional, but very genuine, happy ending.
This is a lyrical memoir of divorce, Thailand, and the hope that comes with new love.
September 26, 2021
This is a powerful memoir about marriage, divorce, and finding yourself again afterward.
It might not be PC to say this, but I found the writing surprising coming from a man. It's emotional and vulnerable. Ira is painfully honest at times, about things he said and did, even when he's not proud of them.
The narrative moves back and forth from the past to his present on his annual trip to Thailand to visit his family. The switches in time are a little jarring but I got used to them. I appreciate how he was comparing and contrasting the way he felt about his marriage/ex-wife in the past and how that evolved with time.
This is also a story about the sacrifices we make in relationships of all kinds. It's also about learning to believe you are worthy of love and speaking up for what you want. Although I'm a woman, and my previous marriage/divorce was very different from Ira's, there was a lot about this book that resonated with me. He perfectly captures the roller coaster of an experience. It brought up a lot of memories for me that I hadn't thought of in years (both painful and happy.)
I highly recommend this one for readers of memoir.
It might not be PC to say this, but I found the writing surprising coming from a man. It's emotional and vulnerable. Ira is painfully honest at times, about things he said and did, even when he's not proud of them.
The narrative moves back and forth from the past to his present on his annual trip to Thailand to visit his family. The switches in time are a little jarring but I got used to them. I appreciate how he was comparing and contrasting the way he felt about his marriage/ex-wife in the past and how that evolved with time.
This is also a story about the sacrifices we make in relationships of all kinds. It's also about learning to believe you are worthy of love and speaking up for what you want. Although I'm a woman, and my previous marriage/divorce was very different from Ira's, there was a lot about this book that resonated with me. He perfectly captures the roller coaster of an experience. It brought up a lot of memories for me that I hadn't thought of in years (both painful and happy.)
I highly recommend this one for readers of memoir.
November 14, 2024
I am a long-time fan of the author's writing and only wish I had read the book sooner! This Jade World reflects on Ira Sukrungruang's twelve-year marriage and the way he was able to heal and rediscover himself after divorce. Every page of Ira's memoir is vulnerable, honest, and compelling. He is clearly a skilled writer whose command of language is absolutely brilliant, the prose lyrical and magnetic. He's funny too.
The descriptions of food had me practically salivating and even researching new recipes online, and I especially loved the scenes with his mom and aunt. Although I haven't been divorced (fingers crossed!), much of this book and Ira's experience in different relationships still resonated with me. I highly recommend reading This Jade World, particularly for anyone who loves beautiful writing.
The descriptions of food had me practically salivating and even researching new recipes online, and I especially loved the scenes with his mom and aunt. Although I haven't been divorced (fingers crossed!), much of this book and Ira's experience in different relationships still resonated with me. I highly recommend reading This Jade World, particularly for anyone who loves beautiful writing.
February 1, 2022
Ira Sukrungruang has lived in a fragile balance. A man who is "almost" fully home in Thailand and "almost" fully home in the USA, whether it is Oswego, NY., or Tampa, or Chicago. He writes so well that it hurts. He lets you walk around in his shoes, feeling his fears, falling hopelessly in love, breaking apart and then experiencing joy. I appreciated the journey I took reading this and I am so glad he is again married and has a beautiful son he loves.
September 15, 2021
I gave it a good try. So many books out there that demanded my attention that this title lost out in the end. I read about a quarter of it but just couldn't proceed to the end without my other demands suffering for it. It may be a decent book, but it just wasn't for me.
May 18, 2022
Excellent. There aren’t enough memoirs about divorce out there, especially not when it comes to Asian Americans and their white spouses. Ira Sukrungruang’s story is full of vulnerability, complication, nuance and heart. This book found me at exactly the right time.
November 2, 2022
Sukrungruang is a brilliant writer who really delves into his own faults and foibles and wrestles with life. I appreciate his willingness to expose so much about his own personality and decision-making that lead him down paths that were less-than-ideal.
December 20, 2022
The end of a relationship is extremely difficult and personal and I applaud the author for tackling it in his memoir. The book balances the rough parts and despair from the end of a long marriage, woven together with processing and recovering during journeys through Thailand.
August 18, 2022
So relatable even though Ira and I have not had similar lives. The human emotion, anxiety, and want is universal.
January 8, 2024
Sensual and delicious. Packed with keen observations and insights. Brilliantly written.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews