The Body Papers

De: Grace Talusan

Narrado por: Grace Talusan

Born in the Philippines, young Grace Talusan moves with her family to a New England suburb in the 1970s. At school, she confronts racism as one of the few kids with a brown face. At home, the confusion is worse: her grandfather's nightly visits to her room leave her hurt and terrified, and she learns to build a protective wall of silence that maps onto the larger silence practiced by her Catholic Filipino family. Talusan learns as a teenager that her family's legal status in the country has always hung by a thread - for a time, they were "illegal." Family, she's told, must be put first.

The abuse and trauma Talusan suffers as a child affects all her relationships, her mental health, and her relationship with her own body. Later, she learns that her family history is threaded with violence and abuse. And she discovers another devastating family thread: cancer. Despite all this, she finds love, and success as a teacher. On a fellowship, Talusan and her husband return to the Philippines, where she revisits her family's ancestral home and tries to reclaim a lost piece of herself.

Contains mature themes.

©2019 Grace Talusan (P)2019 Tantor

Very touching story. Very relatable.

Thank you Ate Grace for sharing your story. This book was very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The imagery you used was so vivid that I felt and imagined happy flashbacks from some of my childhood in the Philippines. I also really appreciate you for shedding light on the topic of mental health and child abuse just to name a few. It was very brave of you to do so and I thank you for taking the lead to show the rest of the world that these stories must be shared. Wishing you lots of success and blessings. Looking forward to your next book. -Noura

Amazing.

This was stunning. An honest and self-aware memoir. Relatable in many ways. Highly recommend.

Beautiful and Emotional Journey

What made this audiobook even better was that it was narrated by you. As a first gen fil-am I related to the parts about worrying about fitting in both Filipino and American cultures. This book was a beautiful and emotional journey of life as a POC in the US. Thank you so much for sharing your stories Grace! Hope to hear more from you.

Great listen. beautifully narrated

I really enjoyed it, the story was incredibly rough and upsetting at times but the narration was incredible. I was able to relate to the discriptions of being a white foreigner in Manila.

Excellent

Beautifully written! A sometimes sad, but uplifting tale of life and choices. The story is woven together with incredible skill.

Woe is me

I cant take the victim narrative. Couldnt finish it. Starts as an adult helpless then talks about as a child helpless