Patterns That Remain Book Launch: New York

Join the Patterns that Remain Book Launch Event!

Event Schedule:

6:00pm: Enjoy light apps and cocktails.

6:30pm: Collective Healing Workshop and Discussion

7:30pm: Fireside Chat "The Importance of Mental Health and Collective Healing"

Moderated by: Kimmy Wu

Special Guests

Dr. Kevin Nadal, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and City University of New York

Sahaj Kaur Kohli, Founder of Brown Girl Therapy and Author, But What WIll People Say?

John Wang, Speaker, Podcast Host, & Author, Big Asian Energy

8:30: Book signing, mix, mingle, community engagement

We would like to thank our event partners and community sponsors:

Project Barkada

Carriage House

Ms. Yoo

About Patterns That Remain

The book combines history, storytelling, research, and culturally grounded strategies to support readers as they move throughout their healing journey.

If you are the child of Asian immigrants, this book is for you.

If you are healing from diasporic wounds, this book is for you.

If you want to break intergenerational trauma patterns, this book is for you.

If you seek a deeper understanding of how attachment styles impacts relationship dynamics, this book is for you.

About Dr. Stacey Diane A. Litam

Stacey Diane Arañez Litam, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Counselor Education at Cleveland State University, a licensed professional clinical counselor, and a clinical sexologist. She is a Forbes Health Advisor and was named one of Crain’s Cleveland 40 Under 40 in 2023.

As an immigrant and Filipina American woman, Litam is passionate about the power of storytelling and promoting equity among marginalized communities. She is an award-winning speaker, researcher, consultant and content expert on topics related to mental health, sexual well-being, human sex trafficking, multiculturalism and Asian American concerns. As a speaker, Dr. Litam has partnered with the White House, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, LinkedIn, the Cleveland Guardians, the Cleveland Cavaliers and more.

Dr. Litam is internationally recognized for her pioneering work on the impact of COVID-19 related discrimination on the mental health and wellbeing of disaggregated Asian American communities with 17 publications archived in the World Health Organization’s Global Database on COVID-19 literature. She has contributed to over 50 peer-reviewed publications and has written extensively on anti-Asian discrimination and human sexuality.

About Dr. Kevin Nadal:

Dr. Kevin Leo Yabut Nadal is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at both John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Graduate Center at the City University of New York. He received his doctorate in counseling psychology from Columbia University in New York City and is one of the leading researchers in understanding the impacts of microaggressions, or subtle forms of discrimination, on the mental and physical health of people of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people; and other marginalized groups. He has published over 100 works on multicultural issues in the fields of psychology and education. A California-bred New Yorker, he was named one of People Magazine's hottest bachelors in 2006 and one of NBC's Pride 30 in 2018. He once won an argument with Bill O'Reilly on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor"; and he was even once a Hot Topic on ABC's "The View". He has been featured in the New York Times, Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, the Weather Channel, the History Channel, HGTV, Philippine News, and The Filipino Channel. He is the author of 14 books including Filipino American Psychology (2011, Wiley); Microaggressions and Traumatic Stress (2018, APA); and Queering Law and Order (2020, Lexington). He was the first openly gay President of the Asian American Psychological Association and the first person of color to serve as the Executive Director of the Center for LGBTQ Studies. He is a National Trustee of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) and a co-founder of the LGBTQ Scholars of Color National Network. He has delivered hundreds of lectures across the United States, including the White House and the U.S. Capitol. He has won numerous awards, including the American Psychological Association 2017 Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest; the 2019 Richard Tewksbury Award from the Western Society of Criminology, and the Thought Leadership Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

About Sahal Kaur Kohli:

Sahaj Kaur Kohli, MA.Ed&HD, LGPC, NCC is a practicing therapist, writer, and speaker on a mission to make mental health care more diverse, equitable, accessible, and inclusive. As the first in her family to do a lot of things — be born in the West, go to therapy, and marry outside of her religion/race/culture — Sahaj understands the unique struggles of children of immigrants, and she uses her personal experience to create original resources and content for this underserved population. As a therapist, Sahaj helps immigrant families, and adult children of immigrants identify their dominant stories — what they’ve been told, what they tell themselves — when it comes to feeling enough in their differing cultural identities. She also aims to mediate cultural brokering between loved ones to create healthier and more supportive relationships. Prior to becoming a therapist, Sahaj had a 6+ year career in journalism where she worked as a senior editor working closely with a diverse network of freelancers on a daily basis. In this role, Sahaj specialized in mental health and identity-driven content, particularly essays involving disability, mental illness, sexuality/gender, race, and culture. Sahaj's passion lies at the intersection of narrative storytelling and mental health advocacy. Sahaj continues to write as a freelancer, and she has a weekly advice column with The Washington Post and has a book, But What Will People Say?, coming out in May 2024. In 2019, Sahaj founded Brown Girl Therapy, the first and largest mental health and wellness community organization for children of immigrants. Sahaj takes her role as a community advocate seriously, and through her career development, she has taken on additional roles as speaker, consultant, and educator. In 2024, Sahaj was named a Verywell Mind 25 Honoree. In her various positions, Sahaj aims to help others create healthier, more culturally inclusive relationships, workplaces, and lives.

About John Wang:

John Wang is a leadership coach to the Asian American community, corporate speaker, and host of the Big Asian Energy podcast. Wang is the founder of Mastery Academy and coaches Asian American clients from Google, Apple, American Express, Goldman Sachs, and other Fortune 500 companies. His coaching videos have reached more than 25 million views on TikTok. This is his first book.