About the book: The star of Marvel’s first Asian superhero film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), tells his own origin story of being a Chinese immigrant, his battles with cultural stereotypes and his own identity, becoming a TV star, and landing the role of a lifetime.
In this honest, inspiring and relatable memoir, newly-minted superhero Simu Liu chronicles his family's journey from China to the bright lights of Hollywood with razor-sharp wit and humor.
Simu's parents left him in the care of his grandparents, then brought him to Canada when he was four. Life as a Canuck, however, is not all that it was cracked up to be; Simu's new guardians lack the gentle touch of his grandparents, resulting in harsh words and hurt feelings. His parents, on the other hand, find their new son emotionally distant and difficult to relate to - although they are related by blood, they are separated by culture, language, and values.
As Simu grows up, he plays the part of the pious child flawlessly - he gets straight As, crushes national math competitions and makes his parents proud. But as time passes, he grows increasingly disillusioned with the path that has been laid out for him. Less than a year out of college, at the tender age of 22, his life hits rock bottom when he is laid off from his first job as an accountant. Left to his own devices, and with nothing left to lose, Simu embarks on a journey that will take him far outside of his comfort zone into the world of show business.
Through a swath of rejection and comical mishaps, Simu's determination to carve out a path for himself leads him to not only succeed as an actor, but also to open the door to reconciling with his parents.
We Were Dreamers (2023) is more than a celebrity memoir - it is a story about growing up between cultures, finding your family, and becoming the master of your own extraordinary circumstance.
We Were Dreamers is an instant New York Times bestseller.
About the author: Simu Liu is a Canadian actor and writer best known for his work on Marvel Studios’ Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, in five seasons of the beloved family sitcom Kim’s Convenience, Ken in Barbie and for manifesting his dreams into existence with a Tweet. He wishes he had tweeted for something a bit better - like world peace, or for his parents to finally say “I love you”. He received nominations at the ACTRA Awards and Canadian Screen Awards for his work in Blood and Water. He was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world in the "Artists" section. In January 2023, he was named the winner of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television's Radius Award at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards. He also won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Host in a Live Entertainment Special for the 2022 Juno Awards.
He lives in Los Angeles, Toronto, and wherever the best tax credits for film production are.
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