The Loyal Daughter is a novel in stories, told from the perspective of mother, daughter, and granddaughter and spans the 1940s to modern day. A young woman in a village in Communist China finds herself scrapping her way through the crowded streets of Hong Kong. She immigrates to an isolated Northern Ontario city and finally settles in Toronto. When she finds herself stuck in a small apartment above a clothing store, with four kids, her mother, two siblings, and a husband who is never home, the promise of a new beginning fades. Filled with heart-breaking sacrifices, struggles, and secrets that shape her identity, The Loyal Daughter stands testament to a woman’s true resilience.

Awards & Reviews

“A Best Book of Fiction Selection, 2022.”

– CBC Books

​Remarkably original, sensitive, and startlingly honest.

– Robert Rotenberg, Bestselling author of Downfall

Lam’s debut novel resonates because it’s about women reinventing themselves to find fulfillment.

– Erica Ehm, Canadian icon and founder of the YummyMummyClub.ca

Based on her family’s story, Nancy Lam’s debut novel spans multiple generations of women in China, Hong Kong, and Canada. As each struggles with poverty, love, and identity, The Loyal Daughter poses the universal question: What Is loyalty — helping one’s family or being true to one’s own self?

– Jan Wong, author, Red China Blues

This is a foundation story chronicling a Chinese family’s leap from a familiar but restrictive old world to a new one rich in opportunity and challenge. At the heart of the saga is a woman of such extraordinary will power and energy that no obstacle could stand against her. Her portrait is drawn with an equal measure of love and candour and she emerges as both profoundly human and heroic. We will only truly understand Canada today when stories like this one become widely read and circulated. This is a genesis story of our modern Canada. Reading this book will make you feel proud and hopeful about this country today.

– John Cruickshank