Please join us on Friday, October 6 at 7:00 PM as we welcome authors Briana Loewinsohn & Thien Pham for a discussion of their graphic novel memoirs EPHEMERA & FAMILY STYLE: Memories of an American from Vietnam. 

This event will be in person at the store at 6120 La Salle Ave., Oakland, CA 94611.

Order your copy of EPHEMERA at https://bit.ly/ggpEphemera & FAMILY STYLE at https://bit.ly/ggpFamilyStyle.

Description of FAMILY STYLE: Memories of an American from Vietnam

A moving young adult graphic memoir about a Vietnamese immigrant boy's search for belonging in America, perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and The Best We Could Do!

Thien's first memory isn't a sight or a sound. It's the sweetness of watermelon and the saltiness of fish. It's the taste of the foods he ate while adrift at sea as his family fled Vietnam.

After the Pham family arrives at a refugee camp in Thailand, they struggle to survive. Things don't get much easier once they resettle in California. And through each chapter of their lives, food takes on a new meaning. Strawberries come to signify struggle as Thien's mom and dad look for work. Potato chips are an indulgence that bring Thien so much joy that they become a necessity.

Behind every cut of steak and inside every croissant lies a story. And for Thien Pham, that story is about a search-- for belonging, for happiness, for the American dream.

About Thien Pham

Thien Pham is a graphic novelist, comic artist, and educator based in Oakland, CA. He is the author and illustrator of the graphic novel Sumo and did the art for the middle-grade graphic novel Level Up, written by Gene Luen Yang, and is an ongoing comic contributor to Eater SF. Currently Pham is working on his next graphic novel, teaching, and eating. A lot. Follow Thien on Twitter and Instagram.

Description of EPHEMERA

A debut graphic novel that poignantly blends memoir, magic realism, and graphic medicine.

Ephemera is a poetic and dreamlike take on a graphic memoir set in a garden, a forest, and a greenhouse. The story drifts among a grown woman, her early memories as a child, and the gossamer existence of her mother. A lyrical entry in the field of graphic medicine, Ephemera is a story about a daughter trying to relate to a parent who struggles with mental illness. Gorgeously illustrated in a painted palette of warmy, earthy tones, it is a quiet book of isolation, plants, confusion, acceptance, and the fog of childhood. Loewinsohn’s debut book is an aching, meditative twist on autobiography, infusing the genre with an ethereal fusion of memory and imagination.

About Briana Loewinsohn

Briana Loewinsohn is an American cartoonist. These days she teaches high school art and draws comic books. She lives in Oakland, CA with her husband, daughter, and son. If she doesn’t text you back, she is probably gardening.