“Unearthing Shadows: Kim Liao Reveals the Haunting Secrets Behind ‘Where Every Ghost Has a Name'”
“You can’t hold back in the writing, I think— you can always cut stuff later, but you have to go for the jugular when you’re writing.” — Kim Liao
SR: Throughout the book, you wrestle with questions surrounding your family’s silence about Thomas Liao’s role in Taiwanese independence as well as a deep desire to tell your family’s story. You write: “But as I learned what actually did happen…I understood the deeper effects of trauma on her life: [my grandmother] needed her silence. Survivors need their silence. She deserved to not have to share her immense history of pain with others. It’s a privilege to have an easy enough life that you want to ask questions.” How did you navigate preserving your family’s history with respecting their wishes to not revisit parts of their past?
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