How Family, Food, and Culture Shape Us: Lessons from ‘Hunger’

Discover the Power and Pain of Family Rituals

Roxane Gay’s ‘Hunger’ is a memoir of bodies, but it is also a memoir of family, food, and culture. Gay’s Haitian-American heritage is central to her story, shaping her values, her relationship with food, and her sense of self. The memoir is filled with scenes of family dinners, rich with tradition and love, but also fraught with anxiety about weight, health, and acceptance. Gay’s parents are devoted and ambitious, urging their children to achieve and to honor their heritage. Yet, their concern about her body often feels like judgment, creating a rift that is both painful and deeply human.

Food in ‘Hunger’ is both a source of comfort and a site of conflict. Shared meals are moments of connection, but also reminders of difference. Gay describes the pride and complexity of growing up Haitian-American—the expectations of respectability, the joy of tradition, and the challenge of navigating dual identities.

Through her memoir, Gay invites readers to reflect on the ways family and culture shape us, for better and for worse. Her story is a testament to the power of love, the pain of misunderstanding, and the resilience required to find one’s own path. 1 2