My friend, Candace, and I made a card game to spark meaningful conversation and connection amongst Chinese/Taiwanese-American families before it’s too late.
My Story
A year and three months ago, I wrote my parents a letter because I was incredibly unhappy about how I had been treating them.
I read this letter to them over the phone, telling them how much I loved them and thanking them for raising me.
I also told them that I didn’t know how to express my love for them. How I finally saw that all the things they used to do that annoyed me, were the ways that they wanted to show their love. I just didn’t see it and didn’t accept it. I promised that I would no longer take out my anger and frustrations out on them.
I made a commitment to learning how to express my love and to be in their lives from that point forward—to get to know them and hear their stories.
These 18 minutes over the phone didn’t just change my life, it created a brand new one. It felt as if the rest of my life unfolded before me, no longer bound by the guilt and shame of my past self. I hadn’t cried that hard in over a decade. Now, I live with my parents and have the most joyous moments hugging, kissing, and bonding with them each day.
The Card Game
When I met Candace, we connected over our mutual desire to connect deeply with our parents and a shared hope for others to explore it for themselves. I knew that working on this card together was something that I would never regret doing.
We spent the last few months going through thousands of questions, spending late nights working on translations, interviewing and iterating on the experience with our Chinese/Taiwanese-American friends and their parents. And now, it’s here.
We are printing a limited batch of 100 decks in time for the holidays. We initially planned for a batch of 50 but received overwhelming love and support from our community so, we're making more. If this helps just one more person share an authentic moment with their mom or dad, we can die happy.
Our pre-orders are ending on Thanksgiving Day and cards will be delivered by the second week of December. If you or someone you know may be interested, please share! It would mean the world to us.
