Ten years after the publication of her bestselling memoir Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid, in a collection of eloquent and affecting pieces, Evelyn Lau reflects on her life, her relationships, and her identity as a writer.
Moving seamlessly through past and present, Lau describes how her complex, painful relationship with her parents has shaped her adult desires, thwarting her efforts to connect with both men and women. She recalls her dangerous battle with bulimia and examines her continued struggle against crippling depression. Revisiting her life as a prostitute, she explores the extent to which it continues to distort her perception of herself and how others view her. Lau discusses how she now values home and traces this new attitude back to her time on the streets. Above all, she considers her life as a writer, remembering the force with which her childhood passion for writing was once suppressed. She reveals the supreme importance she has come to place on her writing and explains her controversial willingness to breach the boundaries between public and private in the name of art.
Beautifully written, each of these pieces is remarkable for its startling honesty, sensitivity, and painful insight. With Inside Out Evelyn Lau, an author of superb poetry and fiction, establishes herself as an accomplished nonfiction writer.
A8