So, this is pretty exciting news. I’m going to be featured in this book, _Little America_, coming out March 17th. (Just two weeks after my Sri Lankan cookbook comes out, coincidentally enough.) Subtitle: “Incredible True Stories of Immigrants in America.”
It was a LONG process getting here. First they contacted me. Then they did hours and hours and hours of phone interviews. I mean, I really think I did at least 5 hours’ worth of interviews, over the course of a month or so. I’d answer their questions, they’d go away, and then they’d come back with more questions.
At one point, Roshani and I were actually at Geetha’s Foods in the city, picking up Sri Lankan groceries, and I ended up talking to these folks for half an hour in the parking lot, pacing around, trying to remember details from college (which was a very very long time ago).
What’s amazing about that is that the end result after all those interviews will be quite short — I think just about a page or so of text. I haven’t seen it yet, but I am hoping I didn’t say anything too dumb. They’re sending me a copy in the mail. Eep.
(They also did a photo shoot at my house. I don’t know what picture they decided to use. I haven’t actually seen any of the photos. What if I look terrible? Gah.)
The book is actually connected to a TV thing that’s launching this Friday, i.e. tomorrow, January 17. Now, don’t get too excited — I’m not on TV! They’re doing a series of episodes inspired by the series of interviews they published on their website originally. I loved those original interviews, which is why I agreed to be interviewed for the book, and I’m looking forward to checking out the TV thing.
It’ll mean getting the Apple TV+ channel, but Jed keeps telling me that For All Mankind (which is only on there) is his favorite show, so my plan is to do the 7-day free trial, check out the Little America episode, and then binge For All Mankind. 
*****
“Everyone here came from somewhere else. Even Native Americans crossed the Bering Strait at some point. This is the basic American idea — an identity open to all — but it can be easy to forget from inside. And that’s when politics can turn ugly, as it has recently, with our political narrative becoming a story of blame and fear. “Little America” is meant to counter that narrative with a fuller portrait of our most recent arrivals. Here we present just a few stories. You’ll meet a woman who kissed a car for 50 hours. A man who escaped communism via zip-line. A Hindu Mayor of a small Kansas town. These stories are a small, collective portrait of America’s immigrants. And thereby a portrait of America itself.”
More about the book: https://www.mcdbooks.com/books/little-america
Original magazine pieces you can read right now (Usha Reddi, the Indian American mayor in Kansas is v. cool, for example) — http://epicmagazine.com/littleamerica/
The Little America TV series launching tomorrow: https://apple-tv-plus-press.apple.com/…/ori…/little-america/
For All Mankind: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_All_Mankind_(TV_series)
*****
Eep.
(Russell Galen, fyi.)