We’ve always wondered what it would be like to drive across the United States. To spend days traveling along Route 66, AKA the Great American Road Trip. Now, we don’t have to wonder with What We Left Unsaid by Winnie M Li.
But beyond the story of a grand, cross-country road trip comes the reunion of three estranged siblings: Bonnie, Kevin, and Alex Chu. They agree to visit their mother together after she suffers a minor stroke, driving to California and stopping to see the Grand Canyon on their way.
The Chu siblings must settle their differences from over the years, even revisiting an incident on their failed childhood trip to the Grand Canyon. What We Left Unsaid is an emotionally charged story from start to finish. Here are three reasons you should read it!
Book Overview: What We Left Unsaid
Content warnings: racism, mentions of rape and sexual assault, guns, weapons, violence, homophobia, xenophobia, hospitalization, medical procedure, PTSD, slurs, smoking, vomiting (Read at your discretion!)
Summary: The Chu siblings haven’t seen each other in years but when they’re told that their ailing mother is scheduled for an operation next month, they agree to visit her together. Then their mother makes an odd request: before seeing her, they must go on a road trip together to the Grand Canyon.
Thirty years ago, a strange incident had aborted a previous family road trip there. No one’s ever really spoken about it, but during this journey, the middle-aged Chu siblings have no choice but to confront their childhood experience.
Together, Bonnie, Kevin, and Alex travel along Route 66—but as the trip continues, they realize the Great American Road Trip may not be what they expected. Facing their own prejudices and those of others, they somehow learn to bridge the distances between them, the present-day, and their past.
It’s Deeply Relatable
We connected with What We Left Unsaid so much that it’s almost uncanny. Let’s start with the unspoken duty that Asian American children have to make their lives worth their immigrant parents’ sacrifice. The sibling dynamics are also very true to life, with Bonnie taking the role of eldest daughter/second mother. Then we have the microaggressions of people commenting on how good an Asian person speaks English is or how much Asians look alike. This book hit home on so many levels.
The Culmination Of Their Memories
Before the Chu siblings start their journey to the Grand Canyon and then California, we get frequent flashbacks to 1991 that run parallel to the road trip. It was the day they were supposed to go to the Grand Canyon, but their trip was abruptly cancelled after an interaction at a rundown gas station. As the siblings recount their memories of that day, they ultimately discover an unsettling secret about their mom, something she has kept bottled inside for thirty years.
The Journey & The Destination
What We Left Unsaid reminds us to love and appreciate our siblings and parents while we still have them. Even when we’re far apart or busy with life, it’s important to make time for one another. The three Chu siblings haven’t gathered in years ever since an argument blew up between Alex and Kevin. Everyone grapples with their own stress and anxiety. Once they shared their burdens and relied on each other, that’s when their estrangement and animosity turned around. There is hope for Bonnie, Kevin, and Alex yet, especially once they reunite with their parents at the end of their trip.
A poignant and deeply relatable novel, What We Left Unsaid by Winnie M Li takes us on the ultimate journey across the country, where we learn how to have faith in ourselves, remember our roots, and appreciate the family we have.
What We Left Unsaid by Winnie M Li comes out August 19th, and you can order a copy of it here!
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