Reimagine AAPI Forum 2.0: Time-Out Before Time’s Up
Join us in kicking off National Family Caregivers Month by engaging in brave intergenerational conversations with other family caregivers who identify as Asian American (including but not limited to Central Asian, East Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian, or Southeast Asian descent). Reimagine’s first AAPI Forum in 2021 explored what it means to live and die well as an Asian American. For our 2022 AAPI Forum, we will explore what it means to be an Asian-American family caregiver. We will ask the question, “How does taking a time-out, or not, for oneself impact care, and ultimately, the way caregivers choose to live and die themselves?”
While the intention of this space -- created by and for AAPI communities -- is to center the diverse experiences of AAPI folks, EVERYONE is welcome to witness, listen, and learn.
Filial piety is a virtue highly valued across Asian cultures, particularly in the hosts’ East Asian cultures. It is a child’s sense of duty or obligation to provide physical care, love, service, respect, and obedience to their parents. This expectation, while intended to create a sense of structure within a family, can lead to conflict of values, wishes, and intentions among family members of different generations.
The last few years have been unprecedented in every sense of the word, and we are still feeling the weight of a collective grief. We want to provide and hold space for the unsung, and often unseen, family caregivers who silently grapple between choosing what’s best for themselves and what losses they are willing to accept in fulfilling their role. We invite you to share and discuss what taking “time-out” means for you, so that we may all learn how to support and encourage one another to experience joy and feel fulfilled in caregiving.
About the Hosts
Holly Chan
Based in Seattle, Holly is a user experience designer who has been intrigued by designing for death ever since she was a teenager. Inspired by their shared experiences as Chinese-American women passionate about improving end-of-life care, she and Elizabeth met in San Francisco and founded Death over Dim Sum. This event series was envisioned to adapt the conversation about end-of-life to the unique needs of Asian Americans. Besides brainstorming the myriad of ways the end-of-life experiences of Americans can be improved for individuals and their families, Holly is also an advocate for social justice through design.
Elizabeth Wong
Based in San Francisco, Elizabeth is a registered nurse who supports women through pregnancy, and in 2016, trained as an end-of-life doula to empower families through life transitions and death. She is also a family caregiver who strongly advocates for loved ones to be involved through education and holding conversations about end-of-life planning, especially in the Chinese community. Given the unique challenges as Chinese-Americans navigating these taboo topics, Elizabeth and Holly founded Death Over Dim Sum, a bilingual event where attendees are empowered to discuss topics pertaining to end-of-life over a shared meal. They also co-hosted ReImagine’s 2021 AAPI Table Talk series which expanded the conversation about end-of-life issues to a larger Asian-American audience. Elizabeth is a co-founder of Beacon Light Doulas and a hospice volunteer for By the Bay Health.
