FOB in Paradise: A Memoir

Nineteen, full of uncertainty and with only a few hundred dollars in his pocket, James arrives in Honolulu—fresh off the boat (FOB) from Hong Kong—to start a new life in America. Everything is unfamiliar, some of it wonderful, some of it confusing and painful; but James has no choice but to find his way forward. His lifelong dream is to become a physician, but with a B grade average and having to support himself in a new country, unable even to declare a major, how can a student like him ever become a doctor? Putting one foot in front of the other with an endearing mixture of fear and courage, James goes from dishwashing to dentistry, to an improbable admission to medical school, meeting people from all over the world, and all the while moving forward—imperfectly and often hilariously—in an attempt to create a life and discover what success means for him.