In the 1980s on the Jersey Shore, the Wong family is part of a new generation of immigrants trying to stake their claim for the American Dream, even as this dream crumbles. Beneath the promises Atlantic City holds lie her father's gambling addiction, ultimately leading to losing the family restaurant.

MEET ME is a beautifully written memoir/essay that blends Wong's story of growing up as a restaurant baby in New Jersey, finding her way through a fractured family with an absent father, and reflections on the disappearing men in her life.

MEET ME isn't chronologically ordered due to the mixture of personal stories and essays, but that didn't affect my reading experience at all. In fact, I relish the experimental writing style that focuses on different topics in each chapter. Wong covers the predatory nature of the gambling industry targeting Asians, the economic & cultural barriers for immigrants seeking healthcare, dating problematic white men, cultural appropriation of Asian food by white chefs to "elevate" ethnic foods, breaking into a majority white space as an Asian American woman, and so much more.

I particularly love Wong's relationship with her mom, whom she calls "wongmom.com," like a website that gives you helpful life advice with humor & honesty. Wong's writing on their conversations made me miss my mom so much, even when sometimes mom's responses are so brutally honest