Joseph Lam is an Asian American entrepreneur who spent the last few years healing a broken and distant relationship with his immigrant parents. Joseph details the painful experience of having a "wall" between him and his parents, oftentimes feeling irritated by their behaviors. He sought to build intimacy in his relationship and co-created Parents Are Human, a bilingual connection card game designed to help immigrant families have deeper conversations and forge stronger ties. Joseph shares how through these questions, he was better able to understand his parents, now hugging regularly, and sharing tears and love. Amazingly, his mother survived the Chinese Famine, which informed the way she expressed love towards Joseph, filling his plate with three portions-worth of food! I also share my experience playing the game with my family and how it can significantly open up dialogue.
More about the game: Each deck contains 70 prompts with two levels of difficulty to inspire connection, compassion, and vulnerability. Each card includes a question or action in English on the front and either Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Korean, or Tagalog on the back to help bridge language, culture, and generational gaps.
