Growing up in New Zealand, Roseanne was the perfect Chinese daughter. She excelled in piano, ballet and drama, as well as becoming valedictorian of her school. She did everything her parents expected of her, until: 1) she fell in love with a white boy called Stephen, and 2) documented what happened next. The result is Roseanne’s fresh, poignant and slightly neurotic account of her personal Herculean task – figuring out how to balance parents and boyfriend without losing either. Spanning six years of subterfuge, two years of despair, and six months of Stephen trying to master Chinese, Banana in a Nutshell is the intimate story of a girl’s two loves – her Kiwi boy, and her Chinese parents – and the struggle to discover some home truths about herself.