I could have sworn I made this topic more than once. Maybe it got lost in the server transfer? Apologies if it's not supposed to be double-posted of if I made an error.
I'm about to start shipping to agents. Would appreciate if someone could take a look!
The Journey So Far : A Transcultural Tale of Giant Robots, Abuse, Mental lllness, Spirituality and How Video Games and Anime Saved a Young Man's Life.
Comparison Titles : Dave Eggers "You Shall Know Our Velocity", Alison Bedchell "Are You My Mother?"
---
The book follows a free-flowing narrative spanning a four book structure. It is not in strict chronological detail, but events proceed in a linear fashion.
Book 1 :
The author is born. This section details his early life in Singapore and introduces his family members. All seems well in the world as he frolics with friends and is first exposed to the video games and anime that will later shape his life. His family moves to the USA to facilitate his mother's PhD studies. There is some time spent adjusting to a new life and culture, but on the whole it is an enjoyable experience. In Los Angeles, the first cracks in the fabric of his seemingly normal family situation start to show.
Book 2 :
The author moves back to Singapore and experiences great difficulty in adjusting back to life and society there. The specter of mental illness looms in the background as his parents' divorce tears his family apart. The loss of his best friends and dropping out of school add fuel to the fire, and the author collapses into a severe depression which almost causes him to take his life. All is not lost though, for in his depths of despair the author finds hope in watching the anime that gives him the strength to survive even this desperate anguish - Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Attempting to pick up the pieces of his life, the author learns Japanese and begins going to see a therapist. He also meets friends and compatriots who help him in his struggle. As he attempts to be a surrogate father to his beloved younger sister in the wake of his parents' abandonment, he journeys deeper into the virtual realms of anime and video games in order to gain the strength to survive and slowly build understanding and compassion. A search for employment proves largely fruitless given his condition, but still he shoulders on.
Book 3 :
The author's family situation continues to deteriorate. The battle against mental illness is often two steps forwards and three steps back, but the passions that brought such joy and succor to his younger self prove more than sufficient to the task of fighting the demons that threaten to destroy his life, sanity and family. A budding romance with three very different girls adds a different texture to the situation.
The author's younger sister, Meimei, continues to be a focal point of his life. The author becomes more involved in the local cosplay scene as well as trying his hand at altogether new pursuits, like singing. New insights come in the form of greater psychological knowledge and the understanding of the transcultural nature of his identity - a young man caught between many worlds.
These experiences and more shine a light on the pathology of his dysfunctional family, and the realization dawns that his troubles may have begun even before he was born. With the guidance of his counselors and the lessons learnt from video games and anime, the author begins to realize with growing compassion that everyone is indeed fighting their own battles.
As the years pass, the PhD that has become an obsession for his mother for more than a decade is finally completed. The author's family home is sold, which gives his family some much-needed resources with which to begin the next phase of their lives.
Book 4 :
About to embark on either further studies or a new career, the author is once more plunged back into living hell by a recurrence of OCD. A not-so-chance meeting with friends of similar spiritual beliefs helps greatly, and with the assistance of a psychospritual retreat and a short stint in Australia that births new perspectives, he is able to prepare himself for half a year of intense self-reflection and healing that culminates in the writing of this book. In a final act of reconciliation and forgiveness, the author chooses to absolve of all sin all those who have done him wrong, and begins a new journey - to meet everyone he has ever known in his life once more, and then see what happens from then on. And as to that...who knows?
I'm about to start shipping to agents. Would appreciate if someone could take a look!
The Journey So Far : A Transcultural Tale of Giant Robots, Abuse, Mental lllness, Spirituality and How Video Games and Anime Saved a Young Man's Life.
Comparison Titles : Dave Eggers "You Shall Know Our Velocity", Alison Bedchell "Are You My Mother?"
---
The book follows a free-flowing narrative spanning a four book structure. It is not in strict chronological detail, but events proceed in a linear fashion.
Book 1 :
The author is born. This section details his early life in Singapore and introduces his family members. All seems well in the world as he frolics with friends and is first exposed to the video games and anime that will later shape his life. His family moves to the USA to facilitate his mother's PhD studies. There is some time spent adjusting to a new life and culture, but on the whole it is an enjoyable experience. In Los Angeles, the first cracks in the fabric of his seemingly normal family situation start to show.
Book 2 :
The author moves back to Singapore and experiences great difficulty in adjusting back to life and society there. The specter of mental illness looms in the background as his parents' divorce tears his family apart. The loss of his best friends and dropping out of school add fuel to the fire, and the author collapses into a severe depression which almost causes him to take his life. All is not lost though, for in his depths of despair the author finds hope in watching the anime that gives him the strength to survive even this desperate anguish - Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Attempting to pick up the pieces of his life, the author learns Japanese and begins going to see a therapist. He also meets friends and compatriots who help him in his struggle. As he attempts to be a surrogate father to his beloved younger sister in the wake of his parents' abandonment, he journeys deeper into the virtual realms of anime and video games in order to gain the strength to survive and slowly build understanding and compassion. A search for employment proves largely fruitless given his condition, but still he shoulders on.
Book 3 :
The author's family situation continues to deteriorate. The battle against mental illness is often two steps forwards and three steps back, but the passions that brought such joy and succor to his younger self prove more than sufficient to the task of fighting the demons that threaten to destroy his life, sanity and family. A budding romance with three very different girls adds a different texture to the situation.
The author's younger sister, Meimei, continues to be a focal point of his life. The author becomes more involved in the local cosplay scene as well as trying his hand at altogether new pursuits, like singing. New insights come in the form of greater psychological knowledge and the understanding of the transcultural nature of his identity - a young man caught between many worlds.
These experiences and more shine a light on the pathology of his dysfunctional family, and the realization dawns that his troubles may have begun even before he was born. With the guidance of his counselors and the lessons learnt from video games and anime, the author begins to realize with growing compassion that everyone is indeed fighting their own battles.
As the years pass, the PhD that has become an obsession for his mother for more than a decade is finally completed. The author's family home is sold, which gives his family some much-needed resources with which to begin the next phase of their lives.
Book 4 :
About to embark on either further studies or a new career, the author is once more plunged back into living hell by a recurrence of OCD. A not-so-chance meeting with friends of similar spiritual beliefs helps greatly, and with the assistance of a psychospritual retreat and a short stint in Australia that births new perspectives, he is able to prepare himself for half a year of intense self-reflection and healing that culminates in the writing of this book. In a final act of reconciliation and forgiveness, the author chooses to absolve of all sin all those who have done him wrong, and begins a new journey - to meet everyone he has ever known in his life once more, and then see what happens from then on. And as to that...who knows?
