S1E3: Help Me Read a Book

Procrastination often masks deeper personal fears, particularly regarding identity and the unknown. Abby, a Korean adoptee raised in the Midwest, grapples with the anxiety of confronting her heritage, a process she long avoided by burying herself in high-achieving activities and assimilating into white spaces. By committing to read Nicole Chung’s memoir, *All You Can Ever Know*, she begins to unpack the complexities of her adoption and the pressure to conform to specific cultural expectations. This journey reveals her underlying fear of biological uncertainty as she contemplates motherhood, highlighting the tension between her desire for self-discovery and the instinct to protect her parents from potential emotional pain. Ultimately, the act of reading serves as a catalyst for healing, allowing her to embrace her identity and prepare to pass on a more authentic sense of self to her future children.