Exploring Identity and Resilience: A Dialogue with Author Prachi Gupta and Ruchika Tulshyan

The Roundglass India Center in Seattle University recently hosted a captivating conversation between the esteemed author Prachi Gupta and inclusion strategist Ruchika Tulshyan.

Prachi Gupta's discussed her memoir, They Called Us Exceptional which explores the experiences of a second-generation Indian American woman who faces detrimental cultural assumptions and struggles with mental health and family dysfunction.  

Gupta highlighted how conforming to an idealized image of a 'model minority' frequently exacts a significant yet obscured toll on immigrants. She recounts the discord, embarrassment, and solitude families face while being hailed as a paragon of American achievement when they grapple with traumas concealed from public view.

The conversation further explored how to better support South Asian communities impacted by a Model Minority Myth that hyper-focuses on educational and professional achievement. The dialogue was both insightful and thought-provoking and shines a light on the need for mental and social wellbeing across all age-groups and communities.