Publication Date: August 19, 2025
On an unexpected road trip, three estranged siblings uncover a startling family secret and larger truths about being Asian American in a post-COVID world—from the author of the “dazzling and devastating” (Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author) thriller Complicit.
The Chu siblings haven’t seen each other in years but when they’re told that their ailing mother is scheduled for an operation next month, they agree to visit her together. Then their mother makes an odd request: before seeing her, they must go on a road trip together to the Grand Canyon.
Thirty years ago, a strange incident had aborted a previous family road trip there. No one’s ever really spoken about it, but during this journey, the middle-aged Chu siblings have no choice but to confront their childhood experience.
Together, Bonnie, Kevin, and Alex travel along Route 66—but as the trip continues, they realize the Great American Road Trip may not be what they expected. Facing their own prejudices and those of others, they somehow learn to bridge the distances between them, the present-day, and their past.
With “powerful and beautiful writing” (Sarah Pearse, New York Times bestselling author), Winnie M Li weaves an emotive and eye-opening exploration of family, race, growing up, and what it means to be American.
Three adult siblings, separated by distance and unresolved grievances, find themselves embarking on a road trip together to fulfill their ailing mother’s request.
For Bonnie, Kevin, and Alex, the trip to the Grand Canyon brings back memories from a disastrous childhood trip three decades prior.
Author Winnie M Li highlights the challenges of sibling relationships in What We Left Unsaid. Each sibling has a different memory about a gas station visit that altered their family vacation, but it’s not until this trip that they fully understand what occurred.
Not only do they visit seven states in seven days as they travel Route 66, but the trip offers a reconnection, whether it’s Kevin’s financial woes or Alex’s same-sex marriage and impending motherhood.
The author weaves in challenges for the Chu siblings along the way that illustrate their unified growth. Putting together the pieces of the past enables them to move forward.
What We Left Unsaid offers an emotionally moving story about three siblings unwillingly brought together to learn a valuable lesson about family and love.
Winnie M Li is an American author and activist living in the UK with her partner and young son. A Harvard graduate, Winnie has written for travel guidebooks, produced independent feature films, programmed for film festivals, and developed eco-tourism projects. Her first novel Dark Chapter was nominated for an Edgar Award and translated into ten languages, followed by the critically acclaimed Complicit. A survivor and advocate against gendered violence, she holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and teaches creative writing and media studies.
