Grace Talusan

Grace Talusan is a Filipino American writer. Her 2019 memoir, The Body Papers, won the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing and the Massachusetts Book Award in nonfiction[1] and was a New York Times Editors' Choice selection.[2][3] Her short story, "The Book of Life and Death," was the Boston Book Festival's One City One Story selection in 2020.[4][5]

Talusan was born in the Philippines, and during the 1970s, her parents came to Chicago from Manila, as her father, Totoy, finished his medical studies on a student visa, and then they settled in Boston, Massachusetts, when she was 2.[6][7] Upon expiration of her father's student visa, the family, including Grace and her two brothers, all U.S.-born, were undocumented.[6] She graduated from Tufts University and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from UC Irvine.[8] Her work often explores immigration, trauma, memory, and belonging.[9]She was the Fannie Hurst Writer in Residence at Brandeis University[10] and is currently a lecturer in the Nonfiction Writing Program at Brown University.[11]

Reception

In a New York Times review, Jennifer Szalai wrote that The Body Papers "doesn’t track a one-way march to triumph from adversity; Talusan’s essays loop in on themselves, as she retrieves old memories and finds unexpected points of connection."[7]

Kirkus Reviews said of The Body Papers, "Moving and eloquent, Talusan’s book is a testament not only to one woman’s fierce will to live, but also to the healing power of speaking the unspeakable. A candidly courageous memoir."[12]

In a review in NYLON, Ilana Masad calls the memoir "stunning" and writes, "Grace Talusan is honest and elegant about some of life's most difficult moments."[13]

Profiles in Carve Magazine and Literary Boston highlight Talusan’s impact as a Filipino American voice in contemporary literature.[14]

Works

Books

  • The Body Papers (Restless Books, 2019)[15]

Anthologies

  • Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19 (2020)
  • And We Came Outside and Saw the Stars Again (2020)

Short stories

“The Book of Life and Death” (2020) - selected for the Boston Book Festival’s One City One Story program. Archived 2021-05-26 at the Wayback Machine.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ Pfarrer, Steve (September 29, 2020). "Valley writers win honors in this year's Massachusetts Book Award competition". The Recorder. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  2. ^ "Meet Grace Talusan, Winner of the 2017 Prize for New Immigrant Writing". Restless Books. August 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  3. ^ "11 New Books We Recommend This Week". The New York Times. 2019-04-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  4. ^ "One City One Story: The Book of Life and Death by Grace Talusan". Boston Book Festival. 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  5. ^ "Grace Talusan Reads 'The Book of Life and Death' at the Boston Book Festival". Boston.com. October 13, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Wong, Wilson (2019-04-08). "Grace Talusan on Her Memoir, The Body Papers – Tufts Observer". Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  7. ^ a b Szalai, Jennifer (2019-04-17). "Documenting Undocumented Lives in 'The Body Papers'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  8. ^ "Grace Talusan". Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life. 2018-08-03. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  9. ^ "Writing Parts Into a Whole: An Interview with Grace Talusan". Literary Boston. February 27, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  10. ^ "Grace Talusan". www.brandeis.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  11. ^ "Grace Talusan". English | Brown University. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  12. ^ THE BODY PAPERS | Kirkus Reviews.
  13. ^ "'The Body Papers' Is A Stunning Memoir About Immigration, Family, And Trauma". Nylon. 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  14. ^ Klein, Lisa (November 10, 2020). "One to Watch: Grace Talusan". Carve Magazine. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  15. ^ "Meet Grace Talusan, Winner of the 2017 Prize for New Immigrant Writing". Restless Books. August 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  16. ^ "One City One Story: The Book of Life and Death by Grace Talusan". Boston Book Festival. 2020. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  17. ^ "Grace Talusan Reads 'The Book of Life and Death' at the Boston Book Festival". Boston.com. October 13, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
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