"Standing Out" by Angela Lee Chen is an autobiography of a woman who has searched throughout her life for a solid personal identity.
From New York, to Kenya, to China, and back to America, the author describes her early years as ones of self-discovery. Through loving but strict family dynamics, she judged herself and wondered where in the world she truly fit in. As her family suffered tragedy and then grew in size, Chen further had to seek her place in society.
Her changing culture and home life challenged her to discover her talents and forge a name for herself. sought academia for the answers to her questions and found that this scholarly world was the perfect match for her personality and need to search for information.
This book was slow to start and redundant for the first few chapters. I considered ending my reading there, but am glad I continued. Chen's quest for self-identity and her place in the world was at once foreign and identifiable. Her multi-national background mixed with her new normal way of life demonstrated her ability to change yet stay true to herself. Ever questioning who she was, as a person, as a family member, and contemplating her role in society, this book tells a fascinating story of a woman always searching for the simple answers of who she is.