For those of us coming from families with deep dysfunction and/or trauma, we often choose different ways of coping - achievement, power, money, control, even addiction. Anything but despair right? For poet, writer and artist Shin Yu Pai, she chose the path of self-expression through language as a way of making sense of her past, present and future. Her experience of growing up in 1980s Riverside, California as the child of Taiwanese immigrants has profoundly shaped her projects, as well as her relationship to her son. We got to know her as the creator of The Blue Suit, a limited-series podcast from Seattle's NPR station KUOW that features the stories of Asian Americans through the lens of every day items. Join us for this thoughtful conversation about her choice to choose the creative professional path, how her life experiences have shaped her work, and what makes her choose the work she does every day.

For more on The Blue Suit podcast and Shin Yu Pai, check out these links: