Sigh, Gone: A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
"Tran's story is an American immigration story, and so much more. His delivery is crisp and engaging, and maintains just the slightest element of whimsy...If you're a fan of memoirs and a fan of literature, this is a must- listen." -- AudioFile Magazine
This program is read by the author.
For anyone who has ever felt like they don't belong, Sigh, Gone shares an irreverent, funny, and moving tale of displacement and assimilation woven together with poignant themes from beloved works of classic literature.
In 1975, during the fall of Saigon, Phuc Tran immigrates to America along with his family. By sheer chance they land in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a small town where the Trans struggle to assimilate into their new life. In this coming-of-age memoir told through the themes of great books such as The Metamorphosis, The Scarlet Letter, The Iliad, and more, Tran navigates the push and pull of finding and accepting himself despite the challenges of immigration, feelings of isolation, and teenage rebellion, all while attempting to meet the rigid expectations set by his immigrant parents.
Appealing to fans of coming-of-age memoirs such as Fresh Off the Boat, Running with Scissors, or tales of assimilation like Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Displaced and The Refugees, Sigh, Gone explores one man’s bewildering experiences of abuse, racism, and tragedy and reveals redemption and connection in books and punk rock. Against the hairspray-and-synthesizer backdrop of the ‘80s, he finds solace and kinship in the wisdom of classic literature, and in the subculture of punk rock, he finds affirmation and echoes of his disaffection. In his journey for self-discovery Tran ultimately finds refuge and inspiration in the art that shapes—and ultimately saves—him.
A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books
“The United States was already a better country because Phuc Tran refused to change his name. Then he went even further in changing this country by giving us this bold, funny, and profane memoir: a portrait of a young punk refugee and of heartland America itself, each of them as defiant and compelling as the other.” — Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of the Pulitzer Prize winner The Sympathizer and The Refugees
"...going aural is your recommended medium because Tran also makes his narrating debut—prefaced by an actual drumroll, yes!—with energy, empathy, and plenty of curse words, as he shares his no-holds-barred coming-of-age journey in small-town Carlisle, Pennsylvania" -- Booklist, starred review
Phuc Tran
Phuc Tran is an award-winning writer, tattooer, and Latin teacher (for which he has won no awards). Lots of things make Phuc cranky: being too cold, being too hot, staying up too late, getting up really early, wearing baggy socks, eating jaggedy cereal for breakfast. Cranky is his first children’s book. His memoir Sigh, Gone received the New England Book Award, the Maine Literary Award, and was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, Audible, and others. Phuc lives in Portland, Maine, with his wife (who is rarely cranky) and his two daughters (who are sometimes cranky). “Phuc” is pronounced like “Luke” but with an F. Learn more at www.phucskywalker.com.
Related to Sigh, Gone
Related audiobooks
Real American: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Southbound: Essays on Identity, Inheritance, and Social Change Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLittle Failure: A Memoir Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Leavers: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Your House Will Pay: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Mind Spread out on the Ground Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Missed Translations: Meeting the Immigrant Parents Who Raised Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hollywood Park: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tastes Like War: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an Unfinished Education Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Aftershocks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Long Division Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Do Not Say We Have Nothing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary, Resilient, Disabled Body Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5No-No Boy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How We Fight For Our Lives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sounds Like Titanic: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Body Papers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Girls: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Growing Up Disabled in Australia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tell Me Everything You Don't Remember: The Stroke That Changed My Life Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Somewhere in the Unknown World: A Collective Refugee Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Heavy: An American Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Brilliant Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Cultural, Ethnic & Regional Biographies For You
Adversity for Sale: Ya Gotta Believe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Up From Slavery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Just as I Am: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Happiest Man on Earth: The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Say Babylon: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino” Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Boy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Exotic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unprotected: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Heavy: An American Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Marriage Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You Got Anything Stronger?: Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pulling the Chariot of the Sun: A Memoir of a Kidnapping Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Living Remedy: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Invisible Generals: Rediscovering Family Legacy, and a Quest to Honor America's First Black Generals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story that Awakened America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row (Oprah's Book Club Summer 2018 Selection) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You're That Bitch: & Other Cute Lessons About Being Unapologetically Yourself Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Sigh, Gone
54 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A fantastic book! I really enjoyed it from the very begging.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5“Phuc It”~This book was awesome!
Memoirist Phuc Tran humorously & delicately shares his growing up as the only Vietnamese boy in his small Pennsylvania town. It covers everything I love; literature, music, family drama, belonging, isolation, teenage rebellion and the 80’s!!!!!!!
Narration was fabulous!!