What We Carry by Maya Shanbhag Lang

What We Carry by Maya Shanbhag Lang is a poignant memoir about mothers, daughters, and the stories that bind—and sometimes mislead—us.

Lang grew up revering her mother, a physician who emigrated from India, raised a family, and embodied resilience and discipline. But when Lang became a mother herself, her once-steady parent suddenly seemed distant. The truth emerged: her mother was living with Alzheimer’s. As Lang took on the role of caregiver, she confronted the unraveling of long-held family myths and discovered just how much of her mother’s past she never truly knew.

Blending personal reflection with questions of memory, culture, and identity, Lang explores the complexities of immigrant motherhood, intergenerational expectations, and the shifting balance of care. The memoir is both a meditation on strength and vulnerability, and a reminder that understanding our parents—truthfully, not mythically—is essential to understanding ourselves.