Aug. 4, 2026
When Rachel Phan arrived at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Brantford campus as a 19-year-old, she was, by her own admission, “pretty clueless.”
“I’d been babied my whole life,” says Phan. “Growing up as a restaurant kid, I didn’t know how to cook, clean or do laundry.”
“Laurier was the place where I truly learned how to be an adult — or at least a prototype of one.”
While Phan was expanding her culinary repertoire beyond roast beef sandwiches in Laurier’s Grand River Hall residence, she was also honing the skills that would later turn her lived experience into a best-selling memoir.
Published in 2025, Rachel Phan’s Restaurant Kid: A Memoir of Family and Belonging (Douglas & McIntyre) was a national best-seller. “I wanted to write this as a love letter to my family and my younger self,” says Phan. “And to prove to myself that I could.”
Having previously contributed to her community newspaper back home in Kingsville, Ontario, Phan took on the role of Arts and Entertainment editor at Laurier’s Brantford campus student newspaper, The Sputnik. She secured her first job outside of her immigrant parents’ Chinese restaurant, working part-time as a writing coach for Laurier’s Student Success Services. In her courses, she relished the one-on-one feedback she received from faculty members including Bruce Gillespie — one of the perks of the close-knit nature of the campus that had made it her top-choice university. In a course on race and gender with Professor Rebecca Godderis, she developed the vocabulary to describe why she’d always felt uncomfortable in her own skin, being one of just two racialized people in her small-town elementary school.
Phan at her Laurier Brantford convocation ceremony in 2011.
“Growing up, I never really thought I had a voice worth listening to,” says Phan. “I couldn’t imagine a world where my stories or my perspective would matter to people. At Laurier, I was surrounded by professors, mentors, editors and peers who encouraged me to keep going. They gave me feedback that made me sharper, validation that made me braver and opportunities that really helped me come into my own as a writer. And, honestly, without that encouragement, it’s very possible I would not be a published author.”
“Even a few people believing in you can change the course of your life, and that is what the Laurier community has given to me.”
Rachel Phan
(Photo: Lula King Photo & Film)
Phan’s first book, Restaurant Kid: A Memoir of Family and Belonging, was an instant national best-seller. The unflinching account of her experiences as a “third-culture kid” — raised in a culture different from that of her immigrant parents — earned a spot on CBC Books’ Best Books of 2025 list and a longlist nod for Canada Reads 2026.
In May of this year, Phan earned an additional accolade — this time from her alma mater. At Laurier’s Awards of Excellence ceremony, she was named Alumna of the Year, recognizing an alum who brings honour to the university through professional accomplishment.
Max Stiles (left), representing Awards of Excellence sponsor Affinity Market Group at TD Insurance, and Kevin Lad (right), Wilfrid Laurier University Alumni Association vice-president, present Phan with her Alumna of the Year award.
Accepting the award in person, accompanied by her husband, Michael, and her parents, Hy and Tran, Phan took the opportunity to reflect on her achievements.
“This award feels very full circle to me because the Laurier community helped shape not only my career, but also my sense of self,” Phan said in her acceptance speech. “It’s true that even a few people believing in you can change the course of your life, and that is what the Laurier community has given to me.
“There are so many people who helped get me to this point, but the two I thank most are here — my mom and dad. My parents survived a war. They survived being refugees. They survived starting over in a strange, foreign land. They survived working 12-plus-hour days, seven days a week, doing backbreaking work at our family restaurant for close to four decades and counting. And I’m grateful, Laurier, that you gave them a reason to actually close the restaurant so they could come here. My parents did all of that so my siblings and I could have a chance at a better life. It’s because of their hard work and sacrifices that we were the first generation in our family to attend and graduate from university. The award is as much theirs as it is mine.”
“Receiving the Alumna of the Year award was a tangible way my parents could see how my book has been received,” says Phan. “That Laurier gave them a reason to close the restaurant and get dressed up to see their daughter honoured in that way... What a beautiful gift to my family.”
While the Alumna of the Year award recognized Phan’s accomplishments to date, her writing journey is far from over. Following the ceremony, she spoke about the success of Restaurant Kid, her forthcoming second book and the advice she’d offer aspiring writers.
In Canadian literature, it’s harder to find memoirs by people who aren’t extraordinary. You can read about doctors and astronauts, but there’s not as much of a platform for everyday people like my parents, who are hustling in these family-run businesses that are the lifeblood of our communities. So many Canadians have a similar background, whether it’s a family-run restaurant, convenience store or laundromat — it’s a story that feels accessible and relatable.
And then there’s the sheer honesty of it. One of the things that’s always rankled me is this expectation that to be a “good Asian girl,” you have to be quiet, shrink yourself and avoid making ripples. We’re conditioned to be polite and palatable. In Restaurant Kid, I wanted to subvert those expectations by showing that I’ve lived a somewhat messy life. I’ve made bad decisions and treated people horribly. Writing about those things is uncomfortable, but I’ve put myself out there and readers appreciate that vulnerability and honesty. I think it’s a breath of fresh air for them. Maybe they, too, can release their shame and free themselves from whatever limiting expectations they face.
According to Phan, That Asian Girl Is a Problem: Confessions of a Recovering Good Girl “picks up where Restaurant Kid left off.”
Some of the feedback I got from Restaurant Kid was along the lines of, “Thank God we don’t have racism and microaggressions like that anymore.” And I thought, “Hold up — we still do!” So, if Restaurant Kid was about finding belonging and identity within family and community, That Asian Girl Is a Problem is about what happens when you step into the wider world and discover that belonging is still conditional. It’s a rallying cry for Asian women, racialized women and women in general to refuse to abide by the unspoken rules shaping our existence and embrace being a problem.
Writing two memoirs back-to-back left me feeling like an exposed nerve for the better part of three years. One of the ways I found joy in the writing process for That Asian Girl Is a Problem was to play around with genre. I have a chapter on body image that’s written in the form of a recipe — a recipe for the perfect Asian female body. Then, I have a courtroom transcript that satirizes how Asian women are tried in the workplace for being too much, too loud, too demanding. I really forced myself to push the boundaries; to break the rules, following the main thesis of the book. I hope it resonates with readers who have had similar experiences and that it’s eye-opening for those who haven’t.
“Writing Restaurant Kid helped contextualize so much of my life,” says Phan. “It’s not until you engage in reflection that you’re able to see that so many of us are just doing the best we can. It allowed me to give myself — and my family — grace.”
As a child, I always had this dream of writing a book, but I didn’t think it was a dream for me to have, because I didn’t see a lot of Asian authors — or characters for that matter. My experience shows that, even if you think there’s no audience for you, keep writing. Put yourself out there and pitch as much as you can. Read more and read widely. Befriend other writers, attend writing workshops and you will find your people. The more you put yourself out there, the more opportunities will find you.
Long before she became a published author, Phan indulged her love of the written word as a voracious reader.
“A lot of being a restaurant kid is just trying to stay out of the way,” says Phan. “My way of doing that was by going across the street to my local library.”
To this day, she devours various genres and formats to an extent that she finds it challenging keeping up with new releases.
“There are so many good books coming out all the time, sometimes I feel melancholy because I can’t read them all,” says Phan.
Here are three recently released page-turners she recommends adding to your reading list:
Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang
“A razor-sharp, buzzy thriller. Zhang is a brilliant Chinese Canadian author who is expanding Canadian literature’s appeal to new audiences.”
Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino
“I inhaled this book in 24 hours. A dark comedy about the housing affordability crisis in the U.S. and the lengths that people will go to get the house of their dreams.”
Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park
“Told from alternating points of view, this spy thriller had me on the edge of my seat. It also really expanded my understanding of dynamics within the Korean diaspora.”
Laurier Brantford is more than a place of learning — it’s a hub where community and campus come together. From literary competitions like the Laurier Stedman Prize to student-led projects that strengthen local organizations, Laurier is making a real impact in Brantford every day. Sign up for the Campus Connections Brantford e-newsletter to stay on top of upcoming events and inspiring stories.
