Give your audience all the feels

with Susan Lieu

The way Susan steps into the spotlight helps audiences step into their power.

A captivating speaker on intergenerational healing, vulnerability, and courage, Susan has given her signature energizing talks at The Smithsonian, TEDx, The Moth Mainstage, Harvard, Google, and Salesforce. With humor and heartbreak, she inspires her audience to live like they’re (actually) mortal.

Speaking highlights

How to make peace with your belly fat

Susan’s Signature Talks

Fireside Conversation with The Manicurist’s Daughter

With vulnerability and humor, Susan discusses her memoir about grief, trauma, body image, and finding your own place in the world.

Heal the Past. Own the Future.

On the brink of motherhood, Susan decides to avenge her mother’s death by processing unresolved grief into a critically acclaimed one-woman show, a memoir, and a new law. A lonely journey of solitary healing takes a turn when thousands come out to deal with their own trauma with her.

How to Make Peace with Your Belly Fat

For years Susan was disgusted with her belly fat until her ancestors smacked some sense into her in a sweat lodge. Hear about how Susan’s experience in losing her mother to plastic surgery at a young age changed her perspective on beauty, self-love, and forgiveness.

Live Like You’re Mortal

Fired from Corporate America and a failed comic, Susan was at a crossroads: keep applying to jobs that maximize income or follow that dormant voice of becoming a performer. With a mortgage and graduate school loans, Susan makes the irrational choice – and changes her life forever.

“Poignant”

–San Francisco Chronicle

“A dynamo”

–Los Angeles Times

“Brave”

–V (formerly Eve Ensler)

  • "During the Q&A, audience members expressed gratitude for Susan’s vulnerability both onstage and in her book, that opened the possibility of conversation within their own families and relationships. From her emotional and moving talk about intergenerational healing to her bright personality, it was an unforgettable experience and privilege to have Susan at the Smithsonian!"

    –Janis Woodward, Smithsonian National Asian Art Museum

  • “Susan Lieu’s story is not only engaging but also empowering! Her powerful storytelling and insightful discussions on resilience, identity, and healing, left attendees inspired, enlightened, and deeply moved, fostering an unforgettable experience that resonates long after the event.”

    –Joanna Carmona, Yale University

  • “The amount of people who reached out to me after our time together to tell me how much it meant to have you here, how your story resonated with them and how important it was to have your story told was mind blowing—my email and Teams were blowing up so much I had to take a break!”

    –Amy Kaname, Pivotal Ventures

  • “Susan Lieu is a remarkable force! I highly recommend her as a speaker. She touched everyone with her heartfelt and hilarious stories about family, loss, and healing. Students lined up afterwards to share how much Susan’s presence and life wisdom meant to them. She has the ability to deeply connect, name pain, and move us collectively towards reconciliation.”

    –Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, University of California, Irvine

  • “It was such a joy to host Susan Lieu at UCLA in celebration of her hot-off-the-press memoir, The Manicurist’s Daughter, which addresses beauty standards, gendered labor, Vietnamese refugee resilience, and complicated relationships to food. Susan wow-ed our students with her all-emotions-bared, heart-to-heart performance. We are so appreciative of her bravery & generosity!”

    –Evyn Lê Espiritu Gandhi, University of California, Los Angeles

  • “Susan Lieu is by far the most compelling author we have hosted, when it comes to why libraries matter and how they bring forward a sense of belonging. Thank you for sharing your incredible story. It was a magical moment.”

    –Jonna Ward, Seattle Public Library Foundation