The Hunger We Pass Down
The Hunger We Pass Down by Jen Sookfong Lee, published by Kensington Publishing Corp on September 30, 2025, is a 384-page work that delves into the complexities of intergenerational trauma through a horror-tinged narrative. The story follows single mother Alice Chow, who struggles to manage her life while running an online cloth diaper business and raising her two children, Luna and Luca. As Alice grapples with her overwhelming responsibilities, she discovers that someone—or something—has been mysteriously taking care of her chores, allowing her to connect more deeply with her family and confront their troubled history.
Readers will find a sharp exploration of themes such as friendship and the impact of past violence on present lives. The narrative weaves together elements of horror and contemporary fiction, as Alice’s journey reveals the haunting legacy of her family’s experiences, from her great-grandmother’s past as a comfort woman during WWII to her own struggles. The Hunger We Pass Down presents a thought-provoking examination of how trauma is passed down through generations and the challenges of breaking that cycle.
Official synopsis Publisher
Jordan Peele’s Us meets The School For Good Mothers in this horror-tinged intergenerational saga, as a single mother’s doppelganger forces her to confront the legacy of violence that has shaped every woman in their family.
“Genuinely frightening story of rape, abuse, and neglect. A bold story of intergenerational trauma that creates spooky scares out of real-life atrocities.” – Kirkus, STARRED Review
Single mother Alice Chow is drowning. With a booming online cloth diaper shop, her resentful teenage daughter Luna, and her screen-obsessed son Luca, Alice can never get everything done in a day. It’s all she can do to just collapse on the couch with a bottle of wine every night.
It’s a relief when Alice wakes up one morning and everything has been done. The counters are clear, the kids’ rooms are tidy, orders are neatly packed and labeled. But no one confesses they’ve helped, and Alice doesn’t remember staying up late. Someone–or something–has been doing her chores for her.
Alice should be uneasy, but the extra time lets her connect with her children and with her hard-edged mother, who begins to share their haunted family history from Alice’s great-grandmother, a comfort woman during WWII, through to Alice herself. But the family demons, both real and subconscious, are about to become impossible to ignore.
Sharp and incisive, The Hunger We Pass Down traces the ways intergenerational trauma transforms from mother to daughter, and asks what it might take to break that cycle.
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