"Words can be a lifeline."

Beyond the Surface: Empathy, Identity, and Storytelling is a contemplative memoir of a young woman who realized how little she understood people and used creative writing, storytelling, and other media to change that.

Accomplished essayist Teresa Xu shares personal anecdotes to reflect on powerful lessons about empathy and identity, such as what it means to be both Chinese and Canadian, how people think and act differently when trying to communicate in a different language, and how Instagram poetry can be more about uplifting women than becoming the next Shakespeare.

Teresa shares thought-provoking points so that you, too, can respect and celebrate yourself and others. Everyone has a valuable perspective that deserves to be expressed and amplified — all you have to do is look a little Beyond the Surface.