User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
4.5 starsThis was so inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time. I adore Simu, so I was super excited to read his memoir! And his story is simultaneously really sad and really inspiring. He didn’t have the easiest childhood, that’s for sure, and he’s been through so my h to get where he is today. But I loved listening to his story, and it’s super inspiring to hear a success story from someone who doubted themselves and wander sure if they could ever make their dreams a reality. Simu is a very talented actor and writer and I can’t wait to see what he does in the future! Also, if you’re planning to read this one, I’d highly recommend the audiobook, it’s fanatic and his voice is *chefs kiss* 😍
Rating: really liked it
will never apologize for the rabid affection this man sparks in me every time he speaks or posts or does literally anything
Rating: really liked it
"I had some very rudimentary understanding of the importance of representation in media and arts before, but watching
Kim's Convenience really hit home the value of seeing yourself reflected in the world you live in."
°•*⁀➷
There are so many incredible words written into this memoir, but as this is what Simu has consistently stood for in every word he wrote, I think it's easily the most important to highlight. I also wanted to say that while there are so many celebrities I wish I could meet, there are only a select few that it's a goal of mine to actually talk to. To know he was in Syracuse only a few years ago to talk to students and I wasn't there... it just about breaks my heart in half. Missed opportunities, one that I hope will only lead to an opportunity not missed in the future.
I can't pinpoint the moment where I realized Simu was different. Every actor is fueled by their heart and their drive, but we all have actors that make us feel seen and recognized more than others. Simu was like that for me. Not because I'm someone of color, but because when I watched Shang-Chi for the first time, I was hooked from the very first minute. I only got into Marvel when Endgame came out, so I'm still relatively new to the stories. I fell in love with Chris Evans acting, and when Simu showed up on screen, I fell in love all the same. There's just something about them that transcends who they're portraying, and makes everything around them feel real. It's magic.
I see now that it's because no matter how much he was steered in a different direction, Simu always wanted to be a hero. It may have started as wanting to be an astronaut, but that only makes me love him more. The stars, space and all of their mysteries is one of my favorite things to read about. We have that in common (so does Chris Evans. Since Simu mentioned him, I feel it's only right to give him his rightful place in this review).
The story of his parents, while heavy and heart breaking and hard for me to understand, really captured why he's so driven. Why he feels like he's always had to prove himself. Why when his moment came, he went into it with no qualms or regrets. He asked the question "What makes me worthy" and I wrote out simply... because you asked that question. Asking what makes you worthy ALWAYS makes you worthy. It's the idea that even though this roll is what he's dreamed about his entire life, he still asks why he deserves it over anyone else. It's inspiring.
I loved that when he wrote of his struggles with a 9-5 job he explained so perfectly what it feels like to be lost in expectations. I love that he wrote, "Whether you like it or not, you're getting better at something every day." And then follows it up with, "No matter what you choose to do with your day, you are either helping to create a new habit or solidifying old ones." To make yourself aware that every action you take doesn't necessarily have a good outcome... I think I really needed to hear that. I think a lot of us do, especially in the wake up a pandemic that allowed us to be lazy in so many ways.
I liked Simu before I read this book. I knew there was something about him that was different and regal and special. I knew that with how much I already love Shang-Chi, I would only fall more in love with what he would do to bring the character to life over and over again. But reading this book, seeing his drive and recognizing myself in the heaviness of expectation.... I know I'm going to love him for as long as he chooses to be on the big screen.
I hope it's a very long time. I hope one day I'll be able to say I met him and told him how meaningful his journey is. Not only for his community, but for those that want to learn as well. For those that want to tell him his perseverance is just as important as everything else.
I love you, Simu. I can't wait to see what you do next.
- Paige
Rating: really liked it
Simu, if you are reading this, MARRY ME?
Rating: really liked it
I'm a huge fan of Simu Liu's, and I loved his work on KIM'S CONVENIENCE, and I've watched Shang-Chi at least four times (three times in a movie theatre in the middle of a pandemic, no less! I risked my life to see it! Three times!), so when Simu previewed the cover on his IG, I 100% screamed and went to check Edelweiss for an ARC. WE WERE DREAMERS was a joy to read. It was full of humor, honesty, and inspiration, and it brims with Asian excellence, laughs, a healthy dose of teenage cringe (like, SUPER cringe, dudes), and a lot more N*Sync than I expected. I laughed, I spoke obnoxiously at length about this ARC to my friends, and I read in awe of his determination to become an actor. Moreover, I deeply respect his honesty about his road to super hero stardom, particularly in relation to his rocky relationship with his self-esteem and his identity as an Asian creative, as well as his relationship with his parents. As a Chinese immigration myself, I related all too well to many parts of his own stories of his adolescent. Many folks of the Asian diaspora will seem themselves in Simu's memoir, and for that, I'm so glad this book exists. I really enjoyed this memoir, and it was a ton of fun to read.
Rating: really liked it
truly, this was one of the best audiobook experiences i've ever had. i would wholeheartedly recommend listening to simu liu narrate his story aloud, as his expressive voice brings the words to life - at times deadpan, at times emotional, and at times mischievous, he is always compulsively listenable.
as a chinese person who grew up in canada around the same time as the author, i resonated with so many parts of his experience.
i definitely feel seen and understood within these pages - sometimes uncomfortably, vulnerably so. i especially loved the chapters in which liu writes about his family's history, from his parents' coming-of-age to the tender - but no less ferocious - love that he shared with his grandparents. i also appreciated the unflinching, courageous honesty with which liu and his parents return to some of their most painful memories; simu, you were absolutely right - reading this felt normalizing and affirming. i even liked that there was technical info about accounting, because this detail really conveyed the complexity and tedium of what liu was going through at his office job. last but certainly not least, i was at the raptors championship parade in 2019 and saw simu liu and jeremy lin atop their double-decker bus (gasol really was wildin' up there), and it was a lot of fun getting to read this from liu's perspective.
though i wish that discussions of asian activism were more intersectional and embodied greater solidarity with other movements, and though i wish there wasn't as intense a focus on physical appearances / sex appeal / wooing women (even as i recognize this was the author's experience, and also complicated by the sex-and-appearance-related structural/interpersonal discrimination faced by asian men),
there is no doubt in my mind that simu liu is a marvellous storyteller. pun intended.
Rating: really liked it
Audiobook….read by the author Simu Liu
….8 hours and 10 minutes
I couldn’t figure out why this audiobook had the LONGEST wait lines at every library I use throughout the SFBay area.
Finally I said to myself “F-it”.
I’ll use one of my Audible credits and just purchased it.
I’m sorry I did.
I could have definitely waited longer….
There is ‘no’ reason I see that anyone ‘must-read-this-book now’.
Simu Liu is the star of Marvel’s first Asian superhero film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (all of what means nothing to me one way or another) …. I’ve never seen his movies.
I was curious in learning ‘what was the big deal’ about this guy’ ….and knowing (myself)… always interested in
‘everything Canada’…
and …..(knowing myself these days)…..
desiring easy listening audio companionship while unpacking boxes- re- washing dishes, silverware, etc. …..
I figured with nothing but 5 star ratings (on Amazon anyway)… it must be ‘fantastic’.
So…. Here’s the thing about the book for me….
….when throwing out Tupperware, (replacing Pyrex storage containers instead), was more interesting,
….then it’s not a book I’d particularly ‘rave’ about.
Yeah … Simu has an engaging audio-voice.
I happen to love many of the same things he does about Canada —(starting with Canada’s delicious tasting tap water)….
plus I enjoyed him sharing about the revolution in China —and
I respect the triumph for immigrants everywhere…
but …..?
….was I really the only person that was semi-put off with is narcissistic humor?
I didn’t find it funny when he said “shame on those who skipped over the first part of the book” dedicated to his parents and grandparents —
(I didn’t skip over it yet I felt the ‘dig’)….
I was equally underwhelmed by his casual “let’s back up, shall we” style of writing and speaking as I was occasionally attentive to his
‘fight-against-the-world’.
3 average stars.
Rating: really liked it
I feel like if Simu had waited 20 or 30 years to write a memoir, I would have enjoyed it way more. Parts about his childhood and his grandparents were interesting and culturally informative. However, he spent a lot of the first act discussing how his parents verbally, psychologically, and physically abused him, but never really fleshed out the reconciliation and lingering feelings from that. Just one day they all of a sudden approved of his acting and got a big tv to watch him and things felt very suddenly copacetic. I don’t think the reader is owed an explanation on something so traumatic (or anything really) but I would have been really interested to know how they came to support him, if they ever owned up to the abuse, etc. The working real hard to get into acting stuff was so average that you could truly find it in any actor’s memoir, with the exception of the fight for Asian representation (which added a star for me). Finally, the book ended when he landed the role of Shang-Chi and it did not at all dive into what it was like to film and release the blockbuster, and to be arguably one of most important new additions to the MCU. idk I like the guy a lot but would have liked to have seen him bank some more life experiences to throw in a memoir.
Rating: really liked it
4.5 StarsSimu Liu delivers a page-turning memoir that is all at once funny, inspiring and relatable, while also providing a refreshingly honest and impressively astute look at the immigrant family experience, the cultural trends of Hollywood in recent years, and what it means to be a dreamer fighting to achieve an (im)possible dream.
Here, Simu takes the reader on a grounded journey through his family’s history in China and his eventual immigration to Canada as a young boy, through his tumultuous school years and complex home life, to an early adulthood being passionately bitten by the acting bug, all the way through his rigorous slog as an aspiring Asian-Canadian actor trying to make his mark in Hollywood.
Through the highs and lows, I relished every part of Simu’s life story. I may have come initially for the Hollywood stories and his ground-breaking success with Marvel, but I stayed for the emotionally charged exploration of Simu’s family history and his deeply moving and complicated relationship with his parents.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Rating: really liked it
This book was SO good!?!?!?!
Charming, smart, thoughtful, relatable, emotional and at times laugh out loud hilarious, I adored this book. I loved learning about Liu's parents and grandparents - their lives, their struggles, their journeys, and it was great learning about Simu's own experiences. Liu was unafraid to get into the ugliness and pain that sometimes accompanies the relationships between second-generation immigrants/third culture kids and their parents. His experiences, his anger, the weight of his parents' expectations was all too relatable, but I enjoyed seeing his growth, his passion, and his fervor for chasing his dreams. It's a moving story about dreams, expectations, and the challenges they present for us. The writing is compelling, and engaging, and I had a hard time putting it down.
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but Liu is a great writer, and this book was utterly delightful!
Rating: really liked it
One of the best memoirs and audiobooks I've ever listened to. Simu Liu is an incredible human being with great writing skills and even greater resilience. It's definitely a rags-to-riches type of story, but so well done it gave me goosebumps and brought me to tears. I've loved him when I first saw him on Kim's Convenience, loved him even more when I saw Shang-Chi twice in theaters, and now he's in my top 5 fave actors right next to Robert DeNiro & The Rock after reading this book.
TW: familial abuse
Rating: really liked it
“I’m going to be a superhero.” I simp for this man so, of course, I had to read this book. I usually don’t rate memoirs, but as I said I simp for this man so, of course, I had to rate it. I was hoping to relate to his immigrant child issues and pain as he shows a lot on his posts.
And boy I did. Simu uses a great balance of humour, charm, emotion, and seriousness to tell his story. At times, I could tell that he was being funny to mask up some pain which made it even more relatable to read. I wished I listened to the audiobook since he narrates it but his writing really sounds like him. It felt like he was a friend verbally telling me this story (hence the audiobook wish). It was so entertaining and difficult for me to put down.
I saw a lot of myself in him growing up and his stories (aside from being a Western grad). I have similar memories of disappointing the immigrant parents, the desire to rebel but not too much because parents are scary, imposter syndrome, and not getting the excited reaction one hoped for after great news. There were moments where he verbalized some of my own feelings. It’s wonderful to see where it all started and where he is now.
Rating: really liked it
Being a fan of Kim's Convenience (I watched the series on Netflix), I was looking forward to learning about Simu Liu's story. To be clear, I knew nothing about him before I watched the show. When the book was released, I'd come across an article that mentioned his parents had been disappointed and unsupportive about his choice of becoming an actor. Aside from that, I knew nothing else about the book or his story. So nothing prepared me for the story he shared in this book.
If you can, listen to the audiobook. I highly recommend it, because the book is read my Simu himself. Listening to him tell his own story is impactful. Also, you'll be able to hear him sing lyrics from his high school boy band days!
Full review at LucyKnowsThings.com.
Interestingly enough, Simu Liu's story reminded me of Sweet Like Jasmine: Finding Identity in a Culture of Loneliness.
Rating: really liked it
I loved Simu before I read this book and now I love him even more because of the beautiful and heartbreaking insight this book gave me of his life. If you have yet to read this book, I can't recommend the audiobook enough. The emotion he puts into his storytelling is palpable.
It's true when people say that you truly can't know how a person has lived their life until you've talked to them. Looking as his photos and watching him act, I never would have thought that his past was fraught with so much change and abuse. He had an incredibly difficult and complicated relationship with his parents that veered into the abusive. His painful past is a reminder that sometimes immigrant parents put their dreams and expectations on their children to a truly detrimental point.
I did love, however, seeing his fight for success. That man did NOT give up until he succeeded. Through years of adulthood depression, procrastination, and disinterest, Simu somehow found his calling and worked his ass off. He is impressive, inspiring, and incredible.
Also, I can't believe he is only a day older than me. That made me giggle.
I have read some incredibly autobiographies this year and I feel so happy that I've been able to experience them. If you read and/or listen to an autobiography this year, please let this one be one of them!
Happy reading!
Rating: really liked it
What, am I just supposed to sit here crying now?? I was lucky enough to see Simu on his book tour and we got our copies of the book that night. I literally had seventy pages read before he even took the stage. I could not read this book fast enough. It is beautiful and heartbreaking and filled with so much love and thoughtfulness. It is brilliant and I think everyone should read it and then follow their dreams. It’s what Simu would want.
