Writer Hua Hsu’s Pulitzer Prize winning memoir Stay True details his friendship with Ken, whom he met in college. The two remained close until Ken’s tragic death just a few years later. The book examines Ken’s lasting impact on Hsu and his identity.
More: Hua Hsu on why unlikely matches can lead to life-changing friendships
Hsu is currently a New Yorker staff writer whose previous book is the non-fiction work A Floating Chinaman: Fantasy and Failure across the Pacific. He tells The Treatment about his fascination with peoples’ relationship to objects and the meanings they hold. He talks about how, as a teenager, he relied on his musical taste to set himself apart from others. Plus, he reflects on the book’s powerful impact.
More: Hua Hsu: A Floating Chinaman
More: The language of grief, with writers Ross Gay and Chloe Honum