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Losing a parent at a young age shapes a person. In her debut memoir, “Seeing Ghosts,” Kat Chow pours her grief onto the page and examines how the loss of her mother when she was only 13 both marked her and made her into who she is today. 

She also looks back at past generations of her family to examine how their journey from China and Hong Kong to Cuba and America both marked and made them. 

Her book asks what it means to reclaim and tell your family story. Is it a form of exorcism? Or is it a way to hold on to those we loved and lost? 

Listen to Kerri Miller’s fascinating conversation about big books and bold ideas, as she talks with Chow about her new book and family identity.

'Seeing Ghosts' navigates the melancholia of loss — of people, places and identities

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In her debut memoir, former NPR reporter Kat Chow grapples with family identity after the loss of a parent.

Losing a parent at a young age shapes a person. In her debut memoir, “Seeing Ghosts,” Kat Chow pours her grief onto the page and examines how the loss of her mother when she was only 13 both marked her and made her into who she is today. Kerri Miller talks with Chow about her new book and family identity.



Kat Chow chronicles her loss to help us navigate our own

A side-by-side photo of a woman and a book cover. 

Kat Chow chronicles her loss to help us navigate our own

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