Hawker Dreams: A Vietnamese American in Singapore

Shining a brilliant light on expat life in Singapore, “Hawker Dreams” sweeps readers into the heart of the rule-abiding city-state where nearly a third of its six million inhabitants are foreigners, each with a story to tell.

The memoir is equal parts travelogue, family history, and cultural exploration. Oanh Usadi takes you on her journey of home and belonging through the prism of language, cuisine, and class. In the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic island where language plays a central role in shaping identities and forging connections “Hawker Dreams” is a celebration of the ties that bind us to a place, no matter where we call home. THE MOTH STAFF PICK April 2024: “A new memoir from a beloved Moth Storyteller …in her latest memoir Oanh waxes on expat life in Singapore, taking us on a journey that weaves in cultural exploration, family history, and celebrates the ties that bind and the stories we tell.” The BookLife Prize Review - 2024 Usadi’s immersive storytelling will draw readers into her journey from the first sentence and keep them reading for descriptions of the vibrant locales, sights, and tastes of Singapore...opens a window into the expat life, with its shifting feelings of belonging and ideas about home. Through interactions with Singapore’s diverse population Featured at the 2024 Tucson Festival of Books Stories from the book appeared in the Washington Post and the New York Times.