My Other Heart by Emma Nanami Strenner: A heartwarming and soulful Coming of Age novel

My Other Heart by Emma Nanami Strenner revolves around the lives of a mother whose baby daughter is lost at the Philadelphia airport, and two teenage Asian American best friends who long to connect to their Japanese and Chinese roots, and their arduous pursuit to find acceptance.

Book Title	My Other Heart
Author	Emma Nanami Strenner
Genre	Fiction/ General Fiction/ Diasporic Fiction / Family Life / Asian American Family Life
Pages	416
Language	English
Publisher	Penguin Publishing Group
Release Date	15th July, 2025
Amazon	My Other Heart

Coming of Age Novel

Mimi is flown to Vietnam,without her baby daughter, under sedation and after being denied help at the Philadelphia airport.

Yet, her daughter always remains in her memories and she remains determined in her search for her.

Seventeen years later, during their summer break before college, with the help and support of her wealthy white adoptive parents, Kit travels to Tokyo, Japan to discover her heritage and reclaim her cultural identity.

This whirlwind adventure becomes the trip of a lifetime as she stumbles upon her first love and redefines the politics of true belonging.

On the other hand, Sabrina is left heartbroken and disappointed at being unable to make a similar trip to China to meet her mother’s family.

However,Sabrina comes across a bold new mentor in her life,who compels her to seek answers to the significant questions that she has avoided the entirety of her life.

Mimi finally finds a breakthrough in the search for her missing child and returns to Philadelphia airport tracing the events of that fateful day in her life by revisiting the site where she had lost her baby daughter, Ngang forever.

All of these characters struggle to discover their identity and belonging in the vast world. Each of them embark on a quest to search for and navigate for their authentic selves and understand what it means to truly belong.

My Other Heart negotiates between the tragedies and heartbreaks of life on one hand and the ultimate triumphs and rewards on the other.

Motherhood

Emma Nanami Strenner reveals that in My Other Heart she “wanted to look at the different types of bonds between mothers and daughters, biological, adopted and the fears that you carry as a mother as you watch your children grow up and move into the world and ultimately farther and farther awar from you.”

An Immigrant Narrative concerning the politics of identity and belonging

As the characters undergo a rite of passage into the realities of the world,My Other Heart beautifully represents the coming of age of two Asian American best friends.

Readers can relate to the confusion that occurs when young individuals are at the cusp of embarking on adulthood.

Riot US notes that , “Mimi’s point of view is the most heartwrenching of them all, as you see her regret over that fateful day pierced with shards of hope for her daughter.”

It is a tale of immigrants and immigrant families, revolving around and delineating on the themes of love, belonging,familial bonds and identity, with an intersectional approach along racial and class divides.

Riot US notes that “Told from rotating perspectives, we’re shown how each person is feeling and how messy their interactions and emotions can be.”

About The Author

My Other Heart is Emma Nanami Strenner’s debut novel. She has been a journalist for over two decades and has been a part of major publications like Vogue International, Elle and Stylist.

She has lived abroad for most of her life including in places like Japan, Vietnam, Australia, Singapore, United States and China. Google Books states that “Emma Nanami Strenner is British Japanese and has a degree in Modern Chinese Studies from the University of Leeds.”

Reviews

“A mesmerizing novel filled with different types of love and secrets from the past.” —Jean Kwok, New York Times best selling author of Searching for Sylvie.

LeeReaders suggest that My Other Heart is “An unflinching exploration of Asian-American identity, discrimination, adoption, and classism.”