Sam Louie

Spoken not Broken Sam Louie

Spoken not Broken: Healing through Poetry is a collection of poetry touching on themes related to Asian-American identity, mental health, and addictions drawn from both my professional experience working with clients but also my personal struggle with identity, cultural shame, and addictions. I was once shrouded in shame as I struggled to fit into America as a first-generation immigrant. There was the shame of being different as an Asian, the shame of not living up to certain cultural expectations, and the shame of living in secrecy with various addictive tendencies. Feeling more than defeated, I believed I was broken to the core. My healing came through the written and spoken word. I had to speak my truth regardless of the shame or pain it generated in order to free myself from the crippling internal vise of negativity, inadequacy, and fear. May these poems dip into the richness of your soul so the beauty of the real you can also speak its truth.