How Michelle Yang’s Journey as a Fat Asian Woman with Bipolar Defied All Odds to Find True Love in Phoenix Girl
LL: Readers always want to know how writers navigate family members while writing a book. In Chapter 11, you mention asking your brother, Didi, about a particular memory:
In writing this book, I ask Didi what he remembers of this day. The warmth of his smile seeps through my end of the phone. ‘All I remember is Crystal took us to McDonald’s afterward. I was so happy.’
How much did you share with family, if anything, pre-publication?
MY: Zero. I shared nothing pre-publication. Haha.
My brother did give me blanket permission to write anything I wanted early on though and that’s all the greenlight I needed. He has now read the book and loved it and it has brought us closer together.
