Detroit Author Curtis Chin is bringing stories of family, food, and identity to Port Huron

Joseph Turbok, senior librarian for the adult services at the St. Clair County Library System, works to bring programs, services, and authors to library locations across the community. He’s one of many people working behind-the-scenes to bring Detroit author Curtis Chin to the Blue Water region. 

Chin wrote “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant,” a memoir about growing up gay and Chinese-American in Detroit throughout the ‘80s. As part of the Great Michigan Read 2025-2026 tour, sponsored by Michigan Humanities, Chin is stopping at the St. Clair County Library System on Thursday, April 16. 

The moderated conversation event takes place at the Don Dodge Auditorium at 6 p.m. Following the book signing, Chin will join the community at the Blue Water Ally Center for an afterglow party. 

“Curtis’ book tells a great story about his restaurant and how a little slice of community can be like a safe haven for people within the community itself,” Turbok says. “The restaurant was open before my time, unfortunately, but I’ve talked with some of my co-workers who actually were able to go there when it was open. They not only praised the food, but they praised the environment — how it felt like a great community and cultural hub for Detroit.”

The restaurant, Chung’s Cantonese Restaurant, formerly located in Detroit’s Cass Corridor, was founded by Chin’s great-grandfather in 1940. The eatery is the focus of Chin’s book, which was released in October 2023. Since then, he’s done over 350 events in nine countries, touring and talking about the book. 

When he found out his memoir was chosen as the 2025-2026 Great Michigan Read, including a tour of 20-25 Michigan cities, he was shocked.

“There are a lot of great books being written all the time,” he says. “The fact that the book resonated in communities across the state was really touching to me.”

Those messages resonating with readers are often about food and family, Chin says. 

“It’s also about Detroit in a very pivotal time period for the city,” he says. “The ‘80s were very rough; there was crack cocaine and AIDS. I knew five people murdered by the time I was 18. Despite that, I felt that I had the best childhood. I think that’s part of it — finding hope in difficult times. Internationally, Detroit represents America in a certain way that a city like New York or Los Angeles could never do. Detroit represents Middle America in a lot of ways.”

While on tour, the author frequently runs into many ex-Detroiters or former Michiganders who share their own stories of family, food, and sometimes, their own memories of his family restaurant. 

“They have wonderful stories about their time in Michigan, but also how our family’s restaurant played a pivotal role in their lives — whether it was celebrating high school prom, a birthday or retirement party,” he says. “It’s been great to hear how our family is part of their memories in a happy, hopeful way. It’s really given me a lot of appreciation for what my family was doing running that restaurant for 60-odd years. We saw Detroit through its ups and downs.”

Throughout those ups and downs, Chin admits he never really saw representation of his experiences and felt like an outsider being Asian American in the US. 

“To be embraced by the state has been really wonderful,” he says. “It’s been great when people come up to me and say, ‘thanks for telling our story.’ It’s inclusive of the Asian American experiences, being part of the Detroit story, being part of the Michigan story. That’s probably the greatest joy of this journey.”

Chin considers the book ‘a trip down memory lane’ for many readers to relive pop culture and memorable moments from Detroit’s history.

Although his journey includes being a gay man, throughout his time in Michigan, Chin remained very closeted. His next book discusses his AIDS activism and coming out in New York. He’s excited to connect more with fellow LGBTQ+ community members at the Blue Water Ally Center afterglow. 

“That will be exciting,” he says. “Hopefully that will raise awareness in the book. I think one of the challenges is because of the title of the book, it reads as an Asian American story and not necessarily as an LGBT story. I think that’s a little bit limiting because LGBT could be any community. It is an Asian American book about Chinese food, and diversity in terms of racial issues — but it’s also an LGBT book.”

What started as a personal project to share the history of his parents’ restaurant for future relatives to read has gone on to touch many readers worldwide. After the Michigan tour stops, Chin travels to five cities in Canada.

Turbok is happy to be a part of this upcoming event. 

“There’s been a lot of funding cuts to programs, so we’re really happy and thrilled we’re still able to have a program like The Great Michigan Reads. We really hope people support it and that it can continue into the foreseeable future.”

Registration for the free public event is available online. Anyone, even outside the county, can register and attend. Chin’s books are available at the library as well as St. Clair Community College (SC4,) another event sponsor.