Title: Tiger Mother: Son of a Bitch
Author: Derrick Lin
Publisher: Monex Press
ISBN: 9780578078939
Pages: 111, Paperback
Genre: Memoir/Non-Fiction
Reviewed by: Barbara Miller, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
Derrick Lin is a Chinese American, born to an abusive mother. In Tiger Mother: Son of a Bitch, Lin tells the reader about the terrible ways his mother disciplined him while he was growing up, scarring him psychologically and emotionally. It brought to light the differences of cultures from the Asian “achievement” mentality to the Western “sheltering” and a politically correct upbringing. Tiger Mother: Son of a Bitch hits the reader with a barrage of raw vernacular, a bit over the top at times. His preponderance for sensationalism is used to exemplify the impact of the pain Derrick Lin went through when he was growing up. What Lin calls at times “dark humor” is how the author dealt with his pain of a controlling upbringing; making light of the situations which really were intolerable. That is why so many people that had horrible childhoods become comedians. Because this is such a sad story, the author tries to infuse his humor at times to lighten the mood. Funny or not, that is what he has done, however the disrespect Lin feels towards his mother overflowed to his reading audience.Some people say that childhood should be the happiest time of one’s life. Happiness is sometimes termed as living life to the fullest. Tiger Mother: Son of a Bitch is anything but happy in its message, as Lin tells his no-holds-barred story at times intensely filled with anger, hostility and resentment towards his mother. His mother is the central figure and her overly strict discipline is a form of child abuse and certainly not love.
As I read Tiger Mother: Son of a Bitch I recognized the hurt didn’t stop once the abuse did. Coping with it as an adult must have been more difficult than as a child, because Derrick Lin now realizes with an adult’s intelligence and insight, exactly what was done to him and how horrible it was. So much abuse is undetected until a child grows up and realizes his family isn’t normal. Too many well-meaning people minimize the adult survivor’s pain or dismiss it as meaningless: “That was years ago and it’s over” or “Get over it and move on” or the worst, “Just don’t dwell on it anymore.” As Derrick Lin demonstrates his child abuse did have a major impact on his life.
The important lesson to be learned from this book is found not within its pages, but from the outcry that ensued. His story is about his individual journey. Derrick Lin is not a professional writer, just someone who had to endure abuse that might have broken a lesser person. This book certainly is an eye-opener to the parent or parents who are excessively controlling their children. Hopefully this book has set Derrick Lin free.
