“It was a scary moment that made me reassess a lot in my life,”She explained. “For the next years, I put my career aside to focus on my mental health. [Asian Americans] don’t talk about mental health enough. While we’re quick to celebrate representation wins, there’s a lot of avoidance around the more uncomfortable issues within our community … [The experience] made me realize how important it is to reach out and care for people who are going through a hard time.”
“That’s why I wrote my book and why I’m here today,”She went on. “To reach out and help people talk about the uncomfortable stuff in order to understand it, reckon with it, and open pathways to healing.”