Dirty Kitchen
A Memoir of Food and Family
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Dirty Kitchen
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Narrated by:
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Jill Damatac
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By:
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Jill Damatac
About this listen
In the style of Crying in H Mart and Minor Feelings, filmmaker Jill Damatac blends memoir, food writing, and colonial history as she cooks her way through recipes from her native-born Philippines and shares stories of her undocumented family in America.
Jill Damatac left the United States in 2015 after living there as an undocumented immigrant with her family for twenty-two years. America was the only home she knew, where invisibility had become her identity and where poverty, domestic violence, ill health, and xenophobia were everyday experiences.
First traveling to her native Philippines, Damatac eventually settled in London, England, where she was free to pursue an education at the University of Cambridge, fully investigate her roots, and process what happened to her and her family. After nine years, she was granted British citizenship, and returned to the United States, for the first time without fear of deportation or retribution.
Damatac weaves together forgotten colonial history and long-buried Indigenous tradition, taking us through her time in America, and cooking her way through Filipino recipes in her kitchen as she searches for a sense of self and renewed possibility. With emotional intelligence, clarity, and grace, Dirty Kitchen explores fractured memories to ask questions of identity, colonialism, immigration, and belonging, and to find ways in which the ritual, tradition, and comfort of food can answer them.
©2025 Jill Damatac (P)2025 Simon & Schuster AudioWhat listeners say about Dirty Kitchen
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-06-2025
A Resonant Wake-Up Call: Unpacking the Immigrant Experience, History, and Identity
Jill's "Dirty Kitchen" is an absolutely essential listen, particularly for documented and undocumented immigrants alike, as well as for citizens seeking a profound understanding of the immense hardships faced by children of undocumented immigrants—often through no fault of their own. This book exposes how the system cruelly exploits these individuals, offering nothing in return. What truly sets this audiobook apart is how Jill tells her own life story with such honesty and vulnerability, baring all with no reservations. Her narrative is incredibly raw, powerful, and deeply moving.
"Dirty Kitchen" serves as a much-needed wake-up call to ignorance and entitlement, especially for those who may not grasp the complexities of the immigrant journey. Beyond that, it offers a vital history lesson for both Filipinos and non-Filipinos, illuminating the deep roots of colonial mentality and revealing how the USA continues to leverage and exploit others for its own self-interest.
At its heart, this is a powerful narrative of love and unwavering perseverance that shines through the darkest corners of abuse, mental health struggles, and all the adversities life throws our way. It's a must-read for all Filipino diaspora, offering a path to reconcile the often-present feeling of guilt for having left their home country. What also stands out is Jill's masterful weaving of history, food, and culture into her personal life experiences. She ingeniously uses recipes not just to tell her own story, but incidentally, to give voice to the countless undocumented immigrants undergoing similar experiences, who often remain hidden by fear and silence.
I particularly loved how the Jill tells her own story, and to hear her own voice narrating the audiobook was truly special. Her performance is nothing short of excellent, bringing an added layer of authenticity and emotion to an already powerful narrative. This audiobook is a testament to the enduring human spirit and a call for greater empathy and understanding.
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