One out of five Canadians have mental illness or know someone who has mental illness. 'I think it's an important story because of the stigma and shame of mental illness. Lindsay Wong on writing about mental health in her memoir

10 Canadian books that will make you laugh this summerĭuration 3:16 In this special Canada Reads 2019 edition of the CBC Books' video series, the author of The Woo-Woo talks about how writing about mental illness proved to be cathartic.17 Canadian books to read for Asian Heritage Month.11 Canadian books to read for Mental Health Week.Get to know the Canada Reads 2019 contenders.Why books were a form of escape for Canada Reads author Lindsay Wong.15 hilarious books for the comedy lover on your list.Rejected multiple times, Lindsay Wong's memoir is now a finalist for Canada's biggest nonfiction prize.The Woo-Woo was a finalist for the 2018 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction. Lindsay Wong's memoir The Woo-Woo was be defended by Joe Zee on Canada Reads 2019. Joe Zee, Canada Reads 2019 panellistĪt once a witty and touching memoir about the Asian immigrant experience and a harrowing and honest depiction of the vagaries of mental illness, The Woo-Woo is a gut-wrenching and beguiling manual for surviving family and oneself. Lindsay Wong's darkly comedic memoir will break your heart.

And when Lindsay starts to experience symptoms of the woo-woo herself, she wonders whether she will suffer the same fate as her family. The eccentricities take a dark turn, however, when her aunt, suffering from a psychotic breakdown, holds the city hostage for eight hours when she threatens to jump off a bridge. From a young age, she witnessed the woo-woo's sinister effects when she was six, Lindsay and her mother avoided the dead people haunting their house by hiding out in a mall food court, and on a camping trip, in an effort to rid her daughter of demons, her mother tried to light Lindsay's foot on fire. Lindsay Wong grew up with a paranoid schizophrenic grandmother and a mother who was deeply afraid of the 'woo-woo' - Chinese ghosts who come to visit in times of personal turmoil. In this jaw-dropping, darkly comedic memoir, a young woman comes of age in a dysfunctional Asian family who blame their woes on ghosts and demons when they should really be on anti-psychotic meds.

Lindsay wong the woo woo