Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399166793 ISBN 13: 9780399166792

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2014

“I devoured this book in one sitting...alternately cheering, laughing, cringing, and gasping in horror.  Lui captures the complexity of a mother-daughter relationship that is both complicated and beautiful. Poignant with a bare honesty that may make you think (and rethink) your own relationships.”  —Jenny Lawson, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened   As the 800,000+ U.S. fans of Elaine Lui’s site know, her mother, aka The Squawking Chicken, is a huge factor in Elaine’s life. She pulls no punches, especially with her only child. “Where’s my money?” she asks every time she sees Elaine. “You’ll never be Miss Hong Kong,” she informed her daughter when she was a girl. Listen to the Squawking Chicken lays bare the playbook of unusual advice, warnings, and unwavering love that has guided Elaine throughout her life. Using the nine principles that her mother used to raise her, Elaine tells us the story of the Squawking Chicken’s life—in which she walked an unusual path to parent with tough love, humor, and, through it all, a mother’s unyielding devotion to her daughter. This is a love letter to mothers everywhere.

Product Description:

If Jenny Lawson was Chinese and wrote a Chinese mother-daughter book and punched Amy Chua in the stomach.   As the 800,000+ U.S. fans of Elaine Lui’s site know, her mother, aka The Squawking Chicken, is a huge factor in Elaine’s life. She pulls no punches, especially with her only child. “Where’s my money?” she asks every time she sees Elaine. “You’ll never be Miss Hong Kong,” she informed her daughter when she was a girl. Listen to the Squawking Chicken lays bare the playbook of unusual advice, warnings, and unwavering love that has guided Elaine throughout her life. Using the nine principles that her mother used to raise her, Elaine tells us the story of the Squawking Chicken’s life—in which she walked an unusual path to parent with tough love, humor, and, through it all, a mother’s unyielding devotion to her daughter. This is a love letter to mothers everywhere.

Review:

An Amazon Best Book of the Month, April 2014: "You look like dried monkey flakes." Canadian TV personality and blog gossip gal Elaine Lui doesn't ease us into her mother's bold personality. "The Squawking Chicken," as her Hong Kong-born mother is known, is loud, opinionated, and fearless -- characteristics Lui celebrates in all their cringe-worthy glory, and for which she provides context through her mother's history. That upbringing was one of hardships and perseverance, informing a unique philosophy that she instilled in her daughter. At first (to Westerners, at least), this mother/daughter relationship may seem jarring, unbelievable. But in a book that ultimately acts as both a personal memoir and her mother's fascinating biography, Lui confidently peels back the layers to reveal that there is, in fact, a beautiful bond borne of tradition, sacrifices, pain, and, above all, love. --Robin A. Rothman