Good morning, friends! I have some exciting news to share!
My children’s book, Why We Eat Fried Peanuts: A Celebration of Family and Lunar New Year Traditions is now an official book deal!
You can order it on Google Books, Amazon, !ndigo, and Barns & Noble !
The book is inspired by the true, heroic story of my great-grandmother (“tai nai nai” in Chinese), whose story you might already know (thank you for reading my stuff!!)!
In short, almost 100 years ago in Beijing, China, my tai nai nai gave away her dignity to save a baby. She stayed true to her words and raised the child as one of her own. The baby is now my 97-year-old great-uncle.
No one in my family knows the name of my tai nai nai because women didn’t inherit things or carry names in the family books. But everyone talks about her during family gatherings. Though her name is lost, her legacy of kindness and courage is not.
Here is a little blurb from the original article:
Tai Nai Nai was tough but unconditionally giving;
warm-hearted and always decisive.
She was a gritty Mongolian woman,
who wore shoes too big for anyone to fill in the family.
More importantly,
Tai Nai Nai did what was right and stayed true to her promises.
She spoke words of gold.
Her name was Benevolence.
And we are all her legacy.
But what does all this all have to do with fried peanuts, you ask?
Well, because they are delicious! Here is a photo of my mama’s proud creation:
I know, I am drooling too.
Another blurb from the original post:
“Ever since I left China in 2008, I’ve not found any place that serves fried peanuts like home: the nuts themselves are crispy but substantial; the red skin is touched with just a little oil to make the salt grains stick. The correct way to pick up a fried peanut is with your chopsticks, of course. When you do, the airy skin falls apart, taking most of the salt with it. You don’t gently put the peanut in your mouth; you “pop” them in with a quick turn of the wrist.”
Turning the wrist turned out to be an important surgical skill for me, as I found out later! 😏
But also, fried peanuts are my family tradition as a casual snack and a must-have for Lunar New Year celebrations. My tai nai nai loved them, too. “Eat more fried peanuts to grow strong and live long!” She would say.
Life expectancy in the 1920s and 1930s, when tai nai nai was in her prime, was only 30 to 33. Therefore, people, especially mothers and grandmothers, did whatever they could to feed and care for the kids. From a young age, kids are given nicknames related to dogs, pigs — animals that are easy to feed — and hardy plants. This tradition continues today. For instance, my goddaughter’s nickname is “Little Hawthorn Fruit.” How cute is that?? 🥹
Due to its hardy nature and the multiplicity of the nuts inside its fruits, peanuts have a lot of lucky meanings in Chinese culture.
Get a copy of Why We Eat Fried Peanuts and find out more!
Enough about the food! Let’s go back to the book.
The illustrator for the Peanuts book is the amazing Sian James. Sian was born in Hong Kong and now lives in the UK. She has illustrated many children’s books. Her sample work is so adorable that I can hardly wait to share it with you!
But I can’t…so here is a sneak peek of one of the main characters in the book — a Chinese American girl, Mèng, based on — wait for it — me! (You might have seen this photo on my X/Twitter.)
A funny story about this photo:
My mother, who has been known to do “bad stuff,” sent this photo to me once and asked: “Which one of your cousins was this photo of?”
Me: “Mother, this was me — your one and only child whom you had to steal out of the hospital?” 🫠🤣
Here is how you can pre-order the book!
You can order it on Google Books, Amazon, !ndigo, and Barns & Noble !
I know, I know. You’d like to support local bookstores. Me, too. They will get to them, too! I promise. The book deal just became official a few days ago! So pre-ordering options are limited now. But with your support, they will come to a bookstore near you in January 2025 — just in time for your own Lunar Chinese New Year celebration.
And guess what?
It comes with a yummy fried peanut recipe from my mama! 😉
How about a signed copy?😍
Of course!
If you become a founding member (individual or group), I will definitely send you a signed copy of my book when I get the author’s copies! And if you become a monthly paid member, and I have copies left after the founding members get theirs, you will also get one!
But please don’t worry, you definitely do not have to pay me to read me. 💛I appreciate your reading and your support so much. So far, all my writings are free to read on my blog, through links on my website, and in these newsletters. And if you haven’t read it, my most recent OpEd piece was on medical racism on MedPage Today. I will continue to try my best and produce new content. ✊
Have a wonderful Father’s Day weekend! And don’t forget to eat some fried peanuts (if you don’t have a peanut allergy) with the dad(s)!!