Astronaut Children of Dunbar Street: A Memoir

Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho

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Book cover for Astronaut Children of Dunbar Street: A Memoir
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Book cover for Astronaut Children of Dunbar Street: A Memoir
Image for variant 9781771624794

Astronaut Children of Dunbar Street: A Memoir

Astronaut Children of Dunbar Street: A Memoir

Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho

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Description

An intimate geopolitical memoir that gives voice to the thousands of "parachute kids" across North America--children raised by long-distance phone calls and international wire transfers.

In 1979, following the US-Taiwan break in diplomatic relations, a family emigrates from Taiwan to North America--only to arrive in the midst of a deep recession. With few job prospects, the parents make a wrenching decision: to return to Taiwan for work, leaving their children behind in Vancouver. At just twelve years old, Wiley, the youngest child, suddenly finds herself unsupervised with only two rules to live by: study hard and stay out of trouble.

What begins as freedom soon gives way to homesickness, cultural dislocation and isolation. The siblings struggle in different ways, but once a month, during brief overseas phone calls, they gather to maintain the illusion of stability for their guilt-ridden parents. The separation grows from months to years. The family is never whole again.

The story of this fractured household parallels Taiwan's own ongoing struggle for survival, identity and recognition--much like its children, scattered across the globe. The memoir draws a powerful connection between personal and political displacement, revealing a hidden history of resilience among transnational families.

While countless "astronaut children" and "parachute kids" have grown up in Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand, their stories remain largely absent from the literary landscape. The Astronaut Children of Dunbar Street brings their experience into urgent and unforgettable focus. Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho's debut is a searingly honest account of being left behind in the pursuit of a better life, and offers a rare, first-person look at the emotional cost of the transpacific dream.

Critical Reviews

"Ho's tender, insightful book calls attention to the cracks that form within a family when the profound love one holds for their children means making the devastating choice to leave them behind. This honest and empathetic memoir moved me deeply; it will do the same for you." --Tessa Hulls, Pulitzer Prize-winning author/artist of Feeding Ghosts

"Poignant and beautiful--Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho delivers a gut-punch of a memoir. Hers is a deftly told tale layered with details of dislocation, loneliness, desire, and the kind of complicated love that exists only between parents and children. A triumphant story of reclamation. A startling first book." --Lisa Bird-Wilson, award-winning author of Probably Ruby

"The Astronaut Children of Dunbar Street is a poignant and eye-opening memoir that traces how a family's impossible choices reverberate across continents and generations. Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho offers a thoughtful, intimate exploration of distance, dislocation, and the fragile bonds that hold families together, highlighting an experience too often missing from conversations about migration and the diaspora." --Rachel Phan, author of Restaurant Kid

"The Astronaut Children of Dunbar Street chronicles the journeys taken by an immigrant child, not only the ocean-spanning treks, but the winding path to self-knowledge and forgiveness. Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho details the awkwardnesses of adolescence and the resentments of young adulthood with insight and self-deprecating humour. I was deeply moved by it, and you will be too." --Kevin Chong, author of The Double Life of Benson Yu

Publishing Information

Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre
Pub date: 2026-09-22
Length: 272 pages

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