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Praise for Why Didn’t You Tell Me?

New York Times
Book Review, When the Results of a DNA Test Change the Family Tree
“She tells her story in vivid conversational prose that will make readers feel they’re listening to a master storyteller on a long car trip… Hers is a hero’s journey” (July 2022)

Oprah Daily
Author Story, My Abuela’s Care Taught Me How to Love
“I could no longer speak our once-mutual language, Spanish. But Abuela’s love transcended words, and for that I am grateful. - Carmen Rita Wong” (Sept 2022)

People Magazine
Book Of The Week
“A stunner about race, culture and the deeper meaning of family” (July 2022)

Washington Post
14 books your favorite authors are reading
“‘I read this right before it was published to see if I would blurb it, and I did, because I could not put it down. I keep giving it to people so that we can all talk about it.’ via Xochitl gonzales, author of olga dies dreaming.” (Sept 2022)

BBC UK
The bombshell revelations that turned my family on its head
“‘TV host Carmen Rita Wong grew up in a Dominican-Chinese family, but as she got older the extraordinary truth about her past, and about her parents, began to surface.” (Nov 2022)

Popsugar
The Best New Books of 2022 to Add to Your Reading List
“‘Former national television host Carmen Rita Wong's perspective on her relationship with her mother shifts when she discovers her mother's harbored secrets after her death in "Why Didn't You Tell Me"… Prepare for a moving and enticing portrait of a mother-and-daughter relationship when you pick up this engaging read.” (Nov 2022)

Latino USA
Portrait of Carmen Rita Wong
“‘In her memoir ‘Why Didn’t You Tell Me,’ Carmen Rita Wong dives into her family’s story — picking apart how race, class, and gender shaped the often difficult decisions she and her family had to make…These family secrets sent Carmen on a journey, inspiring her to write a memoir that would help her make sense of what she ultimately uncovered.” (Nov 2022)

Tribeca Citizen
TCQ&A: Author Carmen Rita Wong
“This isn’t her first book; she is author of a series of novels and two bestselling advice books. And she is the founder and CEO of Malecon Productions, where she develops female-focused media and entertainment. She was kind enough to share a copy of the book — and it is riveting. (Scroll to the bottom for an excerpt from the prologue.) And now, in her own words since she is a master of them, the TCQ&A” (Oct 2022)

Elle magazine
Lost In The Masses
“In an excerpt from her memoir Why Didn’t You Tell Me?, journalist and author Carmen Rita Wong recounts the tumultuous experience of growing up in predominantly white schools” (July 2022)

Book Riot
New Releases Tuesday: The Best Books Out This Week
“Why Didn’t You Tell Me? is a riveting and poignant story of Carmen’s experience of race and culture in America and how they shape who we think we are… Her writing can be as empathetic as it can be sharp, and the answer to the question of just what her mother hid from her is surprisingly satisfying“ (July 2022)

NPR
'Why Didn't You Tell Me?' explores a false origin story for the price of assimilation
“Today's book evaluates the price of assimilation when representation, identity and belonging are erased. In Why Didn't You Tell Me?, author Carmen Rita Wong recounts how she discovered her origin story was all but true. She talks with Ailsa Chang about navigating her life after that discovery – and the impact of colonialism” (July 2022)

Reader’s Digest
The 30 New Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2022
“One of 2022’s most captivating books about race relations in America” (July 2022)

Audible
Author Interviews
“Thank you for your brutal honesty, your rawness, and just coming clean. It's much appreciated and it's going to open the eyes of many people, so thank you for this great piece of work” (July 2022)

Glamour Magazine UK
The hottest new books coming out in July 2022 that are perfect for a holiday read
“You may recognise Carmen Rita Wong; she's a well-known writer, TV presenter, and even heads up her own production company. Until now, you might have been less familiar with her story… When Lupe falls ill with cancer, her partner reveals information to Carmen that uproots her entire identity, which is the beating heart of this utterly compulsive memoir” (July 2022)

Tue Night Social
Family Secrets
“this memoir intrigued me enough to go pick up a copy at DC’s Politics and Prose. And I could not put it down. The story itself is a lot. Truth really is stranger than fiction” (July 2022)

WYNC Studio
The Takeaway: Carmen Wong's Journey to Find Her True Identity
“What if you found out that everything you thought you knew about your family and your identity…was a lie? That’s what Carmen Rita Wong tackles in her new book, Why Didn’t You Tell Me: A Memoir, as she confronts the stories her mother told that kept her biological father’s identity a secret for decades” (July 2022)

Publishers Weekly
New and Forthcoming Books by Latinx Authors
“An immigrant mother’s secrets upend her daughter’s understanding of her family, her identity, and her place in the world” (July 2022)

All Arts
6 New Nooks To Read This July
“When those secrets were revealed, bringing clarity to so much of Carmen’s life, it was too late for answers. When her mother passed away, Carmen wanted to shake her soul by its shoulders and demand: Why didn’t you tell me?” (July 2022)

Fortune
6 New Nooks To Read This July
“Wong details the series of twists and turns (and a DNA test with surprising results) that led her to the truth about her biological father. It was a path filled with deception and unexpected discoveries…Now, Wong is sharing her family secrets with the world” (July 2022)

Kirkus Reviews
Carmen Rita Wong shares how she came to terms with a lifetime of family secrets
“Snappy writing, unusual empathy, and an unexpectedly satisfying resolution send this memoir to the front of the pack” (June 2022)

Publishers Weekly
Why Didn’t you tell me? A Memoir
“Packing in raw emotion, sharp cultural commentary, and plenty of intrigue, this has all the makings of a book that’s destined for the big screen. This hits the mark” (June 2022)

Morning Brew
Sidekick’s Best Summer Ever: Reading List
“Wong recounts her childhood growing up in Harlem and deftly dissects notions of belonging, race, and culture in this evocative memoir” (June 2022)

+Additional Press Features Include:

Kirkus Reviews (Nov 2022)
Slate (Dec 2022)

Why Didn’t You Tell Me?

ABOUT THIS BOOK... An immigrant mother’s long-held secrets upend her daughter’s understanding of her family, her identity, and her place in the world in this powerful and dramatic memoirCarmen Rita Wong—media entrepreneur, former national television host, and advice columnist—has always craved a sense of belonging. First as a toddler in a warm room full of Black and brown Latina women, like her mother,Lupe, cheering her dancing during her childhood in Harlem. And in downtown Chinatown where her immigrant father, Peter Wong, a hustler, would show her off inopulent restaurants decorated inred and gold. Then, in the almost exclusively white playgrounds of New Hampshire, after her mother married her stepfather, Charlie, who seemed to be the ideal of thewhite American dad. In a new world, with a new family—Lupe and Charlie quickly had four more children—Carmen’s relationship with her mother became fraught with tension, suspicion, conflict, and distance that only years later might be explained by the secrets her mother had been keeping from her for so long.And when those secrets were revealed, explaining so much of Carmen’s life, it was too late for answers. Her mother had passed away. Carmen wanted to shake hermother’s soul at its shoulders and demand:“Why didn’t you tell me?”What follows is Carmen’s search for understanding of who she is as she peels back the layers of her mother’s history and the revelations that seep out.Why Didn’t You Tell Me?is a riveting and poignant story of Carmen’s experience of race and culture in America and how it shapes who we think we are.

Praise for Why Didn’t You Tell Me?

New York TimesBook Review, When the Results of a DNA Test Change the Family Tree“She tells her story in vivid conversational prose that will make readers feel they’re listening to a master storyteller on a long car trip… Hers is a hero’s journey” (July 2022)

Oprah DailyAuthor Story, My Abuela’s Care Taught Me How to Love“I could no longer speak our once-mutual language, Spanish. But Abuela’s love transcended words, and for that I am grateful. - Carmen Rita Wong” (Sept 2022)

People MagazineBook Of The Week“A stunner about race, culture and the deeper meaning of family” (July 2022)

BBC UKThe bombshell revelations that turned my family on its head“‘TV host Carmen Rita Wong grew up in a Dominican-Chinese family, but as she got older the extraordinary truth about her past, and about her parents, began to surface.” (Nov 2022)

Elle magazineLost In The Masses“In an excerpt from her memoir Why Didn’t You Tell Me?, journalist and author Carmen Rita Wong recounts the tumultuous experience of growing up in predominantly white schools” (July 2022)

Reader’s DigestThe 30 New Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2022“One of 2022’s most captivating books about race relations in America” (July 2022)

AudibleAuthor Interviews“Thank you for your brutal honesty, your rawness, and just coming clean. It's much appreciated and it's going to open the eyes of many people, so thank you for this great piece of work” (July 2022)

Tue Night SocialFamily Secrets“this memoir intrigued me enough to go pick up a copy at DC’s Politics and Prose. And I could not put it down. The story itself is a lot. Truth really is stranger than fiction” (July 2022)

Publishers Weekly New and Forthcoming Books by Latinx Authors“An immigrant mother’s secrets upend her daughter’s understanding of her family, her identity, and her place in the world” (July 2022)

All Arts6 New Nooks To Read This July“When those secrets were revealed, bringing clarity to so much of Carmen’s life, it was too late for answers. When her mother passed away, Carmen wanted to shake her soul by its shoulders and demand: Why didn’t you tell me?” (July 2022)

Kirkus ReviewsCarmen Rita Wong shares how she came to terms with a lifetime of family secrets“Snappy writing, unusual empathy, and an unexpectedly satisfying resolution send this memoir to the front of the pack” (June 2022)

Publishers WeeklyWhy Didn’t you tell me? A Memoir“Packing in raw emotion, sharp cultural commentary, and plenty of intrigue, this has all the makings of a book that’s destined for the big screen. This hits the mark” (June 2022)

Morning BrewSidekick’s Best Summer Ever: Reading List“Wong recounts her childhood growing up in Harlem and deftly dissects notions of belonging, race, and culture in this evocative memoir” (June 2022)