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Madelyn Postman

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madelynpostman

Staring into the Sun, May 2026 @ten16press memoir & nonfiction: my Chinese American family | @hopeprize @oxford_flash | The Spark podcast & newsletter

My mother with my brother. Read all about her in “Hearts on Fire” on Substack. Link in bio. Full collection, Staring into the Sun, to be published by @ten16press in May 2026.
Hanging out with my 99-year-old great-aunt at the Hanging out with my 99-year-old great-aunt at the Whitney 🥰
All roads lead to Reno. All roads lead to Reno.
A poem. A poem.
Poems for passersby. Poems for passersby.
Finally visited Locke, a historical rural Chinese Finally visited Locke, a historical rural Chinese community near Walnut Grove. I was with my paternal cousins. We even got to meet Stuart Walthall, Chair of the Locke Foundation. There’s a Joe Shoong school there, funded by my great-grandfather. Can’t wait to go back on my book tour in May 2026! @lockefoundation1915 

#Locke #LockeFoundation #JoeShoong #ChineseAmerican
Mural in progress on Haight Street by @woffsilog 🫶
Writing workshop on Wednesdays at @salesforce Park Writing workshop on Wednesdays at @salesforce Park!
Driving by what must be the Ancestry.com HQ in San Driving by what must be the Ancestry.com HQ in San Francisco. An invaluable resource for researching my family history. I’m using it and Newspapers.com a lot while writing the endnotes for Staring into the Sun, to be published by @ten16press in May 2026.
The Worm Farm in San Gregorio. Part of my family h The Worm Farm in San Gregorio. Part of my family history and one setting in my work-in-progress novel, I Am Gone.
Before the days of Instagram, in 2002, I started a Before the days of Instagram, in 2002, I started a project of posting one photo a day to Madomat.com. The Madelyn automat. It lasted almost a year. There were many details from everyday life, and out-of-place objects like this one.
OK, so this is really my mother, Bonnie, who would OK, so this is really my mother, Bonnie, who would have turned 80 yesterday. I think that the girl in the photo I posted yesterday was her younger sister, my aunt.
Happy 80th birthday to my mother, Bonnie. She died Happy 80th birthday to my mother, Bonnie. She died at age 31 by suicide. I used to never talk about how she died, but since 2017, I have been researching and writing my family’s story, in part to honor her life and also to deal with and talk about her death. 

We miss you!

Edit: I think the girl is my aunt. Now posting a photo of Bonnie.
This October, I interviewed @writer.sereid on The This October, I interviewed @writer.sereid on The Spark. Give it a listen and find out writing’s biggest secret!

The Spark 💥 link in bio
What a gem to discover in Bath @komorebi_bath We What a gem to discover in Bath @komorebi_bath 

We ate cheung fun, oden, char sui bau, milk flavoured shaved ice topped with red beans, and we drank hojicha (charcoal-roasted green tea). Also bought some Hong-Kong-style milk tea to bring home. 

And there’s a lovely shop with Japanese treasures downstairs. 

Had a great chat with the owner, a semi-retired architect from Hong Kong. 

We will be back!
My great-grandparents Rose Soo Hoo and Joe Shoong. My great-grandparents Rose Soo Hoo and Joe Shoong. Read about them in the serialization of my short story collection, Staring into the Sun. Link in bio. 

#ChineseAmerican #OaklandHistory #genealogy #familyhistory #narrativenonfiction #creativenonfiction
Tweaking the interior layout of Staring into the S Tweaking the interior layout of Staring into the Sun which @ten16press sent me 🤩
Forgot to post this last Sunday 😆 1. Met with Forgot to post this last Sunday 😆

1. Met with the designer from @ten16press 
2. Continued to write the notes for Staring into the Sun 
3. Met with my writing group and reviewed 1.5 chapters of my work in progress, I Am Gone
Jung Chang and her new book, Fly, Wild Swans, orga Jung Chang and her new book, Fly, Wild Swans, organised by @chorleywoodbookshop

#jungchang #flywildswans
Read about my Tai-Poa (great-grandmother), Mary Ch Read about my Tai-Poa (great-grandmother), Mary Chew Wu, in this week’s installment of Staring into the Sun. 

Her story spans from when she was 4 years old during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, all the way to 1975 when her husband died. 

Link in bio.
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Madelyn Postman
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