Inside Out

Lori A. Dunn is an ESL teacher, instructional designer, and freelance
writer in New Westminster, B.C.

Throughout this collection of personal essays, Evelyn Lau turns her
writer’s eye inward, gleaning from this introspection a number of
recurring themes including depression, obsession, and libel. In “The
Shadow of Prostitution,” Lau revisits the ghost of the runaway that
she once was. “The Country of Depression” details Lau’s
experiences of that affliction, while “Father Figures” examines her
past associations with men her father’s age and “An Insatiable
Emptiness” describes her childhood struggle with bulimia. At one
point, Lau writes: “I always said everything; there was a kind of
safety in dispensing something personal out in the world, scattering its
seeds among many, in the light of day.” The “something personal”
that runs through these essays is personal pain, and it is unrelenting.

While the sentences are well-crafted and the sentiments heartfelt, the
concept of the personal essay is lost. There are no larger lessons of
life here, merely one person’s self-evaluation and self-absorption. In
this collection, Lau, the target of a recent libel lawsuit, invades her
own privacy.