Personal voice is part of the bigger picture. Personal Essay, "Writing to Change the World", Mary Pipher

How has a personal voice contributed to difficulties for both Gloria Anzaldua and Min-Zhan Lu in connecting with family and community?

How have their struggles differed?

Freedom means knowing who you are, what you are supposed to be doing on the earth and simply doing it, (44), Obsessions, “Writing Down the Bones”, Natalie Goldberg

Discuss the effects of the limitation of freedom on Min-Zhan’s writing.

Both author struggle with what voice to use. Gloria Anzaldua has to struggle multiple dialects. She has to decide what dialect to use in a given context. Using the wrong dialect can result in a negatively interpretation  or result in a misinterpretation of what she is trying to say. In Min-Zhan Lu case her struggle can result in much more dire consequences. Use of the wrong voice at the wrong could result in censorship, of being ostracized or worse. In both cases, the real issue is the loss of each authors real voice.

The epiphany is that both authors realized that they lost the use of their authentic voice in an effort to appease the different audiences they are trying to connect with. It can't be done. In Min-Zhan Lu's trying to decide whether to use state or home voice silenced her. In Gloria Anzaldua case, when to use what dialect was a major issue. Both authors finally came to conclusion that the only voice that was real was their own