"Echoes of Atlantic City: A Memoir of Gambling, Grief, and Healing in Asian American Families"
Includes a Live Web Event on 05/28/2025 at 11:00 AM (CDT)
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Register
- General Registration - Free!
Join us on May 28th, 2025 from 11-12:30 pm CST for a moving and powerful virtual training featuring acclaimed poet and memoirist Jane Wong, author of Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City, winner of the 2024 Washington State Book Award. In this deeply personal session, Jane will share her family's lived experience with her father's compulsive gambling addiction and reflect on the lasting intergenerational impact it had on her life.
Blending the power of memoir, poetry, and cultural reflection, Jane will explore how storytelling offers a vital lens for healing and understanding within Asian American communities. She’ll read a poem and a passage from her memoir that delve into the emotional terrain of addiction, grief, and resilience — and open space for meaningful discussion and shared connection.
Whether you're a counselor, social worker, community leader, or someone impacted by gambling addiction, this training invites you to experience a felt, human approach to this critical issue through the power of story.
Key Takeaways:
- Gain insight into the intergenerational effects of gambling addiction in Asian American families
- Understand how poetry and storytelling can be used as tools for healing and advocacy
- Engage in thoughtful dialogue around culturally informed approaches to support and recovery
Don't miss this unique opportunity to connect, reflect, and grow through the intersection of art and lived experience.
CEU Information: CE Application is pending approval by ICB.
This project is funded in whole or in part by the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery. 
Jane Wong
Jane Wong is the author of the memoir Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City (Tin House, 2023), winner of the 2024 Washington State Book Award. She also wrote two poetry collections: How to Not Be Afraid of Everything (Alice James, 2021) and Overpour (Action Books, 2016). She is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and fellowships and residencies from the U.S. Fulbright Program, Harvard's Woodberry Poetry Room, Artist Trust, Hedgebrook, Ucross, Loghaven, the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, and others. An interdisciplinary artist as well, she has exhibited her poetry installations and performances at the Frye Art Museum, Richmond Art Gallery, and the Asian Art Museum. She grew up in a Chinese American take-out restaurant on the Jersey shore and is an Associate Professor at Western Washington University.
