Anna Storti Discusses the Personal and Political in Her New Book "Torn"

On March 27, 2026, the Duke Asian American & Diaspora Studies program hosted Anna Storti, Assistant Professor of Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies at Duke University, to discuss her recently published book, Torn: Asian/white Life and the Intimacy of Violence (Duke University Press, 2026). An interdisciplinary project, Torn is deeply rooted in Storti’s personal experiences living as a woman of mixed Asian and white heritage, as well as her research in critical mixed race studies. Yet, it is truly a story about U.S. imperialism and how violence tied to the U.S. empire becomes woven into the fabric of everyday intimacy, identity and the mixed race experience.

Storti began her talk by reading the preface of Torn, engaging the audience with her soft yet powerful voice and unique sense of humor. The preface begins with her family history and the early years of her Asian/white life — “feeling both unseen and hypervisible” and grappling with her mixed identities. Through various anecdotes, Storti frames Asian/white life within the context of U.S. militarism and empire, suggesting that racial mixing and Asian America more broadly are shaped by histories of conflict, unresolved violence, and interracial and imperial desire. 

Storti also gave the audience a teaser of each of the four main chapters. Together, the four chapters address the illusion of the sense of wholeness in one’s biracial identity; Asian/white identity within home, design, and lifestyle branding; fears surrounding mixed race identity; and racial fetishization. Ultimately, Storti revisited the idea of being “torn,” reframing it as a shared struggle and calling for anti-imperial solidarity.