Passport to Shame:
From Asian Immigrant to American Addict
Sam Louie grew up torn between cultures as part of a first-generation Chinese immigrant family living in a predominantly African American neighborhood in the United States. He experienced the duality of existence with the tension of two vastly different worldviews, his identity intertwined with America, and his ancestral ties. What traditions and cultural beliefs get preserved, what gets discarded, and what gets lost in translation?
Beneath it all was the presence of three generations of addiction, trauma, and shame. In this bold and vulnerable presentation, he documents the challenges of immigrant experiences and how maladaptive coping mechanisms in the form of compulsive behaviors were a means to gain a sense of adequacy due to the cultural tide of shame and ostracism within his own ethnic heritage and the external world. Louie’s journey of resiliency in navigating multiple cultural forces in the face of adversity and racism can give readers a new understanding of hope, perseverance, and the resources necessary to heal.
Learning objectives:
1. Participants will explore and understand the cultural tension facing immigrants from collectivist cultures in an individualistic American society.
2. Participants will Learn how Asian honor/shame can impact addictions.
3. Participant will be able to see how behavioral addictions such as porn/sex can be used to mask internal struggles.
