Hi, I’m Anh Mian.
A storyteller, mother, and cycle breaker.
I’m the author of Girl Unlearned and In My Skin, I Shine—part of a growing body of work that centers on healing, identity, and emotional resilience for women breaking cycles and the children we’re raising to never need that kind of healing in the first place.
I write for the girl I used to be—the child who was taken from her mother and raised without the truth of her own identity.
For years, I was led to believe things about who I was. That confusion shaped how I saw myself and how I moved through the world.
Girl Unlearned is the story of how I began to reclaim my name, my truth, and, most importantly, myself.
But healing didn’t stop with me.
In My Skin, I Shine is a love letter to my children and to every child who deserves to grow up feeling proud of their skin, their story, and who they are. It was born from a desire to protect their joy and rewrite the messages so many of us were raised with.
My mission as a writer is to make sure no one else grows up in a world where they don’t know who they are or where they come from. I write to remind you:
It’s okay to take up space.
It’s okay to speak your truth.
And it’s more than okay to choose yourself first.
10 things about me
I write most of my drafts at night. That’s usually when everything slows down enough for me to hear myself and put the feelings somewhere.
I’m a mom of two. We’ve built something safe, but I still mess up. I let guilt get loud. I’m learning how to repair without spiraling. I’m learning how to give myself grace and still show up.
I like to drink my chai slowly when I can. Some mornings I don’t get to. That’s just real life.
I used to think being easy to carry made me worthy. If I didn’t take up space, maybe they’d stay. I don’t believe that anymore.
I like music that makes me feel something. Sometimes country. Sometimes hip-hop. Sometimes a song just finds me at the right moment and says what I didn’t know I needed to hear. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Matt Hansen, please check him out and thank me later. He has been feeding my soul.
I love a good story, not because it’s fantasy or real, but because it has heart. I’ll binge Arcane, Queer Eye, The Witcher, The Last Airbender, Mystery of Aaravos, Ted Lasso, Shrinking, or every animated movie under the sun with my kids. If it has heart, I’m in.
Lately I’ve been waking up at 5 a.m., going to the gym, meditating, sitting in the sauna. I never thought I’d be that person. But I’ve started to depend on it, not to change my body, but to honor it.
I still get nervous before I share my work. That hasn’t changed. But I hit publish anyway.
I write for the girl I used to be. The one who didn’t know how to ask for what she needed. And for anyone who’s still learning they don’t have to earn love.
I write truth. Not answers. Not perfect endings. Just the kind of words I needed when I thought no one else felt this way too. I’m glad you’re here. If this is your soft place to land, stay as long as you need.