What We Kept to Ourselves - by Nancy Jooyoun Kim (Paperback)

About the Book

"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Story of Mina Lee comes a propulsive new novel of a family that unravels when a stranger is found dead in their backyard, only to find he might hold the key to finding their mother who disappeared a year ago"--

Book Synopsis

A "propulsive and moving story of a family torn asunder by their mother's disappearance" (Bookreporter) from the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Story of Mina Lee. 1999: At the end of the millennium, the Kim family is struggling to move on after their mother, Sunny, vanished a year ago. Sixty-one-year-old John Kim feels more isolated from his grown children than ever before. One evening, their fragile lives are further upended when John finds the body of an unhoused stranger in the backyard with a letter to Sunny, leaving the family with more questions than ever. 1977: Newly married, Sunny is pregnant and has just moved to Los Angeles from Korea with her hardworking and often-absent husband. America is not turning out the way she had dreamed it to be, and the loneliness and isolation are broken only by a fateful encounter with a veteran at a bus stop. The unexpected connection spans decades and echoes into the family's lives in the present as they uncover devastating secrets that put not only everything they thought they knew about their mother but their very lives at risk. Both "an intricately crafted mystery and a heart-wrenching family saga" (Michelle Min Sterling, New York Times bestselling author), set against the backdrop of social unrest and Y2K, What We Kept to Ourselves masterfully explores memory, storytelling, forgiveness, and what it means to dream in America.

Review Quotes

"What We Kept to Ourselves is both a suspenseful page-turner and a poignant family drama. Kim's beautiful, thoughtful prose illuminates themes of immigration, identity, love, and loss. A gorgeous, thrilling read!"-Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Girl In Translation "Bursting with yearning, twists, and secrets, What We Kept to Ourselves is about the difficult questions that die in our throats when it comes to asking our loved ones. A triumph!"-Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face "A gorgeous literary novel featuring poetic prose and a propulsive mystery. What We Kept to Ourselves is a moving story about immigration, family secrets, and human connection. Truly a masterpiece that I couldn't put down."-Emiko Jean, author of Mika in Real Life "A powerful tribute to the bonds between the least privileged, each page of What We Kept to Ourselves pulses with stunning detail and deep insight. I couldn't put it down."-Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, bestselling author of On the Rooftop

About the Author

Nancy Jooyoun Kim is the New York Times bestselling author of What We Kept to Ourselves and The Last Story of Mina Lee, a Reese's Book Club pick. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.