A gifted performer hounded by a diva reputation, Wu isn’t afraid to portray herself as volatile, cruel or conceited in enthralling essays that range from wistful recollections to uncomfortable confessions.

It’s taken decades for the actor Constance Wu to accept her big feelings, but now it’s her depth of emotion that makes her debut memoir both captivating and tender.

Constance Wu is not afraid of embarrassment, and that is the greatest strength of her debut essay collection.

Wu is refreshingly honest in this look back at the most formative moments of her life, with each chapter acting as a stand-alone, deeply personal essay.

... a beautiful memoir.

...readers will leave the book tasting the bread Wu baked at her first job, and feeling the backstage excitement at a high-school theater audition. The author paints the characters and sites of her adulthood just as dexterously.

Wu...dazzles in this essay collection about love, family, and her hard-won path to Hollywood success.

The essays—parts of which she cleverly imagines as stage scenes—are intimate and rich in emotional detail. However, the time shifts and occasional lack of thematic connection sometimes limit the impact of the author’s message.