Oh My Mother!

A Memoir in Nine Adventures

By: Connie Wang

Narrated by: Connie Wang

Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

“Humorous, endearing, and intimate.” —TIME

“Mother and daughter relationships are always tricky but this peripatetic pair has outdone all of us with this most excellent adventure written by my namesake, author Connie Wang.” —Connie Chung

A dazzling mother-daughter adventure around the world in pursuit of self-discovery, a family reckoning, and Asian American defiance

In Chinese, the closest expression to oh my god is wo de ma ya. It’s an interjection, a polite expletive, something to say when you’re out of words. Translated literally, it means oh my mother—the instinctual first person you think of when you’re on the cusp of losing it, or putting it all together.

In each essay of this hilarious, heartfelt, and pitch-perfectly honest memoir, journalist Connie Wang explores her complicated relationship to her stubborn and charismatic mother, Qing Li, through the “oh my god” moments in their travels together. From attending a Magic Mike strip show in Vegas to experimenting with edibles in Amsterdam to flip-flopping through Versailles, this iconic mother-daughter duo venture into the world to find their place in it, and sometimes rail against it—as well as against each other.

There are hijinks, capers, and adventures. There is also tenderness, growth, and discovery. In telling these stories about the places they’ve gone and the things they’ve done, Wang reveals another story: the true story of two women who finally learned that once we are comfortable with the feeling of not belonging—once we can reject the need to belong to any place, community, census, designation, or nation—we can experience something almost like freedom.

©2023 Connie Wang (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of Elle’s Best and Most Anticipated Books of 2023
One of Cup of Jo’s Book Recs
One of Oprah Daily’s Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2023
One of Nylon’s 12 May 2023 Books to Add to Your Reading List
One of Bustle’s Most Anticipated Books of Spring and Summer 2023
One of Good Morning America’s 15 Fresh Books to Get Lost in This May
One of Katie Couric Media’s 8 New Books to Add to Your Shelf Immediately
One of Brit + Co’s Brand New Books We’re Excited to Read in 2023
One of Zibby Mag’s Most Anticipated Spring and Summer Books
One of BookRiot’s Most Anticipated Travel Books of 2023
One of PureWow’s 14 New (and New-Ish) Books to Read for AAPI Heritage Month
One of TIME’s 8 New Books to Read or Give This Mother’s Day
One of Shondaland’s 5 Books to Read This Mother’s Day
One of Vogue’s 10 of the Best Beach Reads to Lose Yourself in This Summer
One of W Magazine’s 14 New Books to Dive Into This Summer
One of StyleCaster’s 8 Must-Read Books by AAPI Authors

“Hilarious, candid, and heartfelt . . . It’s like Eat Pray Love meets The Amazing Race with hints of Cathy Park Hong’s hit essay collection, Minor Feelings.” —Oprah Daily

“In journalist Connie Wang’s loving, candid debut memoir, she explores her relationship with her mother through nine sweet and funny essays—capturing the joys and complexities of big moments, like attending a Magic Mike strip show in Las Vegas or taking edibles in Amsterdam together, to the quiet, small ones.” —Nylon

“Wang explores all the hilarious, wonderful, wild aspects of her relationship with her mother, Qing Li. . . . Wang tells the type of genuine and relatable stories that mother-daughter partners in crime will cherish.” —Shondaland

Excellent

A masterful and moving examination of the impossibility of love, and life, in a world made of individual people.

Wonderful written and expertly read!

A poignant, honest story of mothers and daughters

A beautiful collection of stories about the bittersweet relationship between mothers and daughters trying to find themselves while supporting each other. Especially appreciate knowing Connie’s mom was intimately involved in the book’s evolution. What a powerful duo and at times adversaries. A gift for all in the complexities of family dynamics.

Relatable, funny and told with kindness

I found myself laughing out loud to an extent that is rare for me.

The memoirs are so relatable and told with kindness. I really enjoyed the entire listen.

Hilarious mother-daughter tale

Beautifully told and laugh out loud funny, I devoured this series of short stories by Connie Wang. Although not the focus, Ms. Wang’s experience of becoming a new mom was deeply relatable particularly for those of us negotiating new babies during COVID.

Heartfelt and beautifully written stories

Wow, what a beautiful memoir! I loved everything about it. The author, Connie’s background as an investigative journalist brought such richness to the narrative, breaking down things that most of us have experienced into descriptions that make it come to life again, like childbirth, and, those first days of being a mother, to arguments and reconciliation with our mothers. So good!

As moving as you'd hope, funnier than you'd think

When you normally think about immigration stories "hilarious" is not the first word that comes to mind. This one is! It's also emotionally honest, deeply moving, and emotively read by the author. (I sometimes feel mixed when an author reads her own work, but Ms. Wang's history as a journalist has clearly helped in this department.) Highly recommended for anyone interested in mother-daughter stories, entertaining cultural commentary, or travel and adventure.

Left me crying

I listened to this within two drives - it’s not very long and it skips along, keeping my attention the whole time. Even though I’m not myself the daughter of immigrants, I found myself recited and nodding along with recognition to many parts. It’s about being human, trying to and sometimes failing to show up for your family despite all their (and your) failings and the wider forces at work in the world. And I cried at the end. Connie does a beautiful job reading this memoir. I recommend this if you’re looking for an entertaining and thoughtful audiobook.