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Due to my own error whereby “Dear Ricky” should have only been PAID content, if you are revisiting this page after having downloaded/viewed it before, PLEASE consider donating money via PayPal below that will help towards funding the full memoir to be published! Thank you.

When I was little I discovered a love of reading and a flair for writing, which made me want to be an author. But of course having Asian parents who shot that ambition down with the sensible “it’s very difficult to get anywhere or make any money from that” meant I packed that idea in… 

While I then never actively pursued a writing career, ever since being a child I have started and stopped far too many stories to count or even remember what most of them were about. But when the pandemic hit, I went back to doing something I hadn’t done for years – writing a diary.

“Dear Ricky” (亲爱的日记 – Mandarin for diary sounds slightly similar to Ricky) was a journal I quietly kept for for at least a year, some entries being like a proper diary addressed to my “old friend Ricky” about things that happened and some just ramblings and thought dumps. This was a difficult thing to write with so much going on but obviously easier than a fictional story. But I never thought it’d be something I’d want to get out; it was just an outlet for everything.

Then several reasons made think, why not? These included being inspired by some amazing ESEA authors (such as Sue Pickford Cheung, Eva Wong Nava, Maisie Chan and others) who have gained traction in the industry, the fact that – as far as I know – no-one else has chronicled their life during these times into a book (yet), and I wanted to fulfil a lifelong dream of just completing a writing project. 

“Dear Ricky” isn’t a completed project – it’s still a work in progress – but I thought that for ESEA Heritage Month 2024, it was timely to at least release part of it. That’s why I am debuted a sneak preview of this memoir(ish) by giving the only 50 attendees at Voice ESEA’s ESEAHM x MCR Celebration on 7th September a copy of the first month! 

However, if you were unable to make this event but would still like to read it, you can subscribe below! 50% of proceeds from downloads of “Dear Ricky” go towards helping me to self-publish the full book in the future and the other 50% will be donated to Voice ESEA. Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy it (though perhaps “enjoy” is not quite the right word to use…)!