The American 31 Flavor Ice Cream with Zed Zha, MD
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What is the premise of Zed Zha’s “American 31‑Flavor Ice Cream” story?
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You're listening to The Nocturnist, stories from the world of medicine. I'm Emily Silverman. Today, we're featuring the fifth and final story from our live show in New York City in November 2023. It's a show we co-produced with Danielle Ofri and Ashley McMullen from the literary magazine Bellevue Literary Review on the theme of taking care. This story came from family medicine physician Zed Shah, who wanted nothing more than a scoop of Baskin Robbins ice cream while growing up as a girl in China. Decades later, Zed finds herself a family medicine physician in the United States, standing in a Baskin Robbins with her reluctant parents, who are visiting from China, trying to persuade them to indulge in the forbidden treat.
After the story, Zed and I talk about the pressures of being an only child under China's one-child policy, the romance of rural family medicine, and the way Zed's mom doesn't speak much English and yet is able to make friends anywhere she goes. They say family medicine doctors can do it all. And in Zed's case, that seems to include comedic storytelling because this performance had the audience in stitches. So take a listen to Zed's story from our live show in New York City. It's called The American 31 Flavor Ice Cream.
It's January 2020, and I am a brand new attending doctor, driving my brand new secondhand SUV down the highway to my brand new house in eastern Washington state. In the passenger seat sits my brand new husband, whom I've had for five years. In the back seat sit my parents, whom I just picked up from the Seattle airport. They're sound asleep, my car is quiet, except for their peaceful breathing and my racing heartbeat. My parents have just arrived from China to visit me. In the past 12 years I've been in the United States, we've only seen each other a handful of times. And this time, looking through the back-up mirror, my parents look a lot older than last time I saw them. My mom's hair is thinning, so she's wearing a perm to hide it.
And the lines on my dad's forehead are carved a lot deeper than last time I saw him. And I am consumed by guilt. You see, in the Chinese culture, out of all the virtues, being good to your parents comes first. And I had not been a good daughter. I am their only child. I left home when I was 20 to pursue a medical career on the other side of the world, draining all of their savings along the way. But this time, things are different.
How does Zed describe the moment she picks up her parents in Washington state?
I'm no longer that starving medical student or resident, and I have a plan to make it up for my parents. At my house, I prepared a whole fridge of foods they've never tried before. I bought them new sheets, a new comforter, a new rice cooker, and this time, actually brand new, not secondhand. And with this plan comes this declaration. I am the product of my parents' hard work and sacrifice, and I am worth it. But more importantly, from now on, I will be taking care of them. And what's the first step to my master plan? Stopping at Baskin Robbins for ice cream. I glanced at the GPS. We're only a minute away from the exact store I picked out. My palms are starting to get sweaty, my heart rate is elevating, and I'm starting to hyperventilate.
By the time I see that big Baskin Robbins logo, I fully met sepsis criteria. I turn sharply into the parking lot and slam into a parking spot right outside the store. Then I turn to the backseat and say, Mom, Dad, want some ice cream? Then I see the look on my mom's face. Like a reflex, I close my eyes and clench my teeth like I'm getting ready for a slap in the face. No, we do not want ice cream, my mom says. And I feel myself sinking into the seat, deflating into a small child. Now before you think the story is brought to you by Baskin Robbins, let me just take you back 32 years ago, the day when I was born.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the premise of Zed Zha’s “American 31‑Flavor Ice Cream” story?
0:00–3:21
2
How does Zed describe the moment she picks up her parents in Washington state?
3:21–7:05
3
Why does Zed’s mother resist the Baskin‑Robbins ice‑cream stop?
7:05–10:36
4
What childhood experience sparked Zed’s love of ice cream in China?
10:36–14:39
5
How did the one‑child policy shape Zed’s sense of responsibility and career choice?
14:39–24:08
6
What challenges did Zed face moving her parents to the United States and building a new home?
24:08–33:22
7
How does Zed explain the realities of practicing family medicine in rural America?
33:22–44:11
8
What reflections does Zed share about family, culture, and the lasting impact of the ice‑cream story?
44:11–48:22