Summary

In Chapter 9, shortly after the family's arrival in the U.S., the Chin Chin Man got a job as a janitor. He often told Nana, then in kindergarten, bedtime stories.

Gifty recalls a former boyfriend named Raymond, who encouraged her to speak proudly about her work. She remembers going away to college and hearing her mother say “I love you” (43) over the phone, which was uncharacteristic for her. Gifty's research goal is to learn if “optogenetics [could] be used to identify the neural mechanisms involved in psychiatric illnesses where there are issues with reward-seeking” (44).

In Chapter 10, Gifty explains that her mother was surprised to find herself pregnant a second time. There is a tape from her childhood of the Chin Chin Man telling stories to her and Nana, and Nana shouting over Gifty's toddler babbling. In the main timeline, Gifty was pleased to...