Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. I don't know if I'm being a weird

tinfoil hat type person about it, but you are not going to catch me out here doing one of these

23 and me DNA tests. You know, beyond the privacy issues around it, there's just things about

myself and my heritage that I know. And, you know,

I don't know, I'm not super interested in fact checking. Because to find something out about your

past like that can shake you to your core. Just listen to today's interview. It's with

Carmen Rita Wong. Her mother is Dominican and her dad is Chinese.

Except her dad isn't Chinese, actually.

Her memoir, Why Didn't You Tell Me, is all about finding out the truth and how that shaped her identity.

And she talks to NPR's Elsa Chang about keeping ties to her Chinese roots, even if she's not Chinese at all.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.

On our new show, Sources and Methods, NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine living your whole life believing a certain story about yourself, where you came from, who your family is,

only to see that story upended because you

discover your mother has been lying to you your entire life. Well, this is exactly what happened to

Carmen Rita Wong. In her new memoir, why didn't you tell me? She confronts the true

origin of her origin story. And as the truth unfurals, she's forced to rethink her family, her race, and the choices her mother made.

It's a story about how your entire identity can shift over one lifetime, rocking your very sense of belonging.

Carmen Rita Wong joins us now. Welcome.

Thank you so much for having me. Thank you for being

...