"An expertly paced work of comics told in black and white, using crisp, direct prose alongside unassuming but meaningful illustrations, All Our Ordinary Stories is a memoir of quiet longing and of what it means to live in the aftermath."
―NPR ("Books We Love 2024")
"Through spare, pen-and-ink images and simple language, Wong imagines [her parents'] respective histories, skillfully interweaving them with strands of the life the family shared in Canada ... A moving and heartfelt graphic memoir."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Wong explores her Chinese immigrant parents' history with gentle curiosity, wry humor, and moments of aching regret ... It's a resonant journey into the past."
—Publishers Weekly
"A moving, honest graphic memoir about a woman's efforts to find her own identity by deepening her understanding of her parents and their pasts."
—Foreword (starred review)
"In All Our Ordinary Stories, a graphic memoir, Wong explores what it means to translate one generation's reality to the next. Her illustrations transcend language, conveying all manner of silences with stunning effect."
—The Walrus ("Best Books of Fall 2024")
"Teresa Wong's growing deftness of the comic form is on full display in All Our Ordinary Stories, an exciting follow-up to her debut graphic memoir, Dear Scarlet. A meditation on bridging distances—of time, place, language, and understanding—this book is an important addition to the Canadian comics canon."
—Jillian Tamaki, co-creator of Roaming
"I love this book with my whole heart. Every line, written and drawn, sings. In it, we find grief and tenderness, astonishing escapes, and endless afterlives. All Our Ordinary Stories will pass from hand to hand; it is a treasure, a compass, and a hope."
—Madeleine Thien, author of Do Not Say We Have Nothing
"All Our Ordinary Stories bravely and completely captures the second-generation experience—the grief, frustration, and impossibility of trying to reassemble what has been concealed, lost, or erased. At its core, this is a poignant tribute to immigrant mothers, to quiet love, to finding comfort in simple gestures, like a fleeting moment of holding hands. Teresa Wong's intricate sophomore graphic memoir is more than worth the wait!"
—Vivek Shraya, author of People Change and Death Threat
"Through her simple, thoughtful drawings and sensitive storytelling, Teresa Wong details the intense love and pervasive worry of being a child of immigrants. This story is a deeply empathetic one about what it means to belong to a family. It's riveting and profound."
—Liana Finck, author of Let There Be Light
"Teresa Wong's All Our Ordinary Stories is anything but: her masterfully paced graphic memoir takes us through the tiny heartbreaks and beats that make up our families and ourselves, beautifully articulating what is often difficult to express. Reading this book is a project in expanding our capacity to care for one another. I loved it; you will too."
—Kristen Radtke, author of Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness
"All Our Ordinary Stories is a true gift of intergenerational storytelling, historical nuance, and most importantly, emotional resonance. From Mao's China to Hong Kong to a quiet food court in suburban Calgary, Teresa follows the trail of her parents and ancestors and learns that there are no easy conversations that can fix the damage of oppression, displacement, and trauma. But All Our Ordinary Stories simultaneously shows us that we can always bear witness and lovingly carry what is passed down. An extraordinary book."
—Jen Sookfong Lee, author of Superfan
"I was truly moved by Teresa Wong's insights into the invisible life of families, her ability to capture inexpressible histories and emotional undercurrents. But what will stay with me is the powerful, transformative story of Wong's development as an artist. This wise book, both beautiful in form and content, is a master class in surviving through creativity."
—Kyo Maclear, author of Unearthing
