by Andrea Wang
First published 2023
A young girl travels through Ohio with her Chinese immigrant parents in their old Pontiac when they suddenly pull over. Her parents have spotted watercress growing wild in a roadside ditch. Armed with rusty scissors and a paper bag, the family wades into the muddy water to harvest the greens. The girl feels mortified by their behavior. She wishes her family would simply buy their food at grocery stores like other families do. Her embarrassment deepens as they collect the wild plants from the dirty ditch. But her mother begins to tell a story about their family's past in China, weaving together memories of food, loss, and the sacrifices made for their new American life. Through her mother's bittersweet tale, the girl begins to understand the deeper meaning behind their foraging. She learns to value both the fresh watercress they gather and the precious memories her family carried with them across oceans. In that muddy ditch, they create a new shared memory around the humble watercress.
Genres: fiction, family, family-life, 21st-century, asian-american
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: China, Ohio
Period: 21st-century
32 pages · Paperback · Vista Higher Learning