Unassimilable An Asian diasporic manifesto for the twenty-first century

Unassimilable tells the story of its author's ever-evolving understanding of her Asian American identity and the frameworks that have shaped how she exists in America. Born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles, Mabute-Louie witnessed how the Asian ethnoburb allowed immigrants like her grandmother to refuse assimilation into American culture, choosing instead to center their own history and values. Mabute-Louie explores her personal strategies for navigating assimilation and whiteness throughout her education as a scholar, a religious leader, a queer person, and an activist. Perhaps most moving is the author's struggle--ultimately unsuccessful--to hold onto the beloved church that shaped her youth and early adulthood, even as that same church moved deeper into anti-queer policy and resisted its congregants' efforts to hold it accountable. Finally, Mabute-Louie rejects the term "Asian American" and proposes "Asian Diaspora" as a more expansive, inclusive identity label that decenters whiteness and Americanness. While Mabute-Louie's language can sometimes veer overmuch into academic jargon, most of the book is accessibly written and driven by the author's personal journey.