What Do We Owe Our Parents? Duty, Dementia, and First-Gen Identity in a Polarized World | Sophia Nguyen Eng

Sophia is a first-generation Vietnamese-American, a powerful voice in tech, and a fierce advocate for honoring our elders. As her father now battles dementia, Sophia finds herself living out the very ancestral values her parents embodied when they fled to America with nothing but resilience and hope. 

This episode is about sacrifice, generational healing, and the beautiful weight of legacy.

Why This Matters to You

If you’ve ever felt…

• Overwhelmed caring for aging parents while managing your own kids and career
• Guilt or conflict navigating cultural expectations around family roles
• A longing to honor where you come from but unsure how to do it in a modern world
• Burned out trying to do it all and wondering if it even matters

Actionable Advice

Straight from Sophia’s journey, here’s what you can apply right now:

• Caring for aging parents isn’t a burden—it’s an act of repayment and reverence
• Lay the groundwork for your kids by showing them what it looks like to show up for family
• Cultural identity isn’t about language fluency—it’s about connection, respect, and memory
• Don’t wait for “retirement” to model generational wisdom—live it now
• Normalize hard conversations within your family—talk about aging, illness, and legacy

Sophia’s parents arrived in America in 1975 with nothing. They worked two full-time jobs just to survive, sacrificing everything so she and her sister could thrive. Growing up in San Jose, Sophia saw both the hardship and the grit. Her mom once told her, “I am the asphalt—you are the car.” That stuck. Now, as a wife and mother of four, Sophia lives that metaphor. She’s the bridge between generations, the caretaker, and the voice calling us back to family. And in her father’s rapid decline with dementia, she’s finding a deeper, more painful, but more powerful love.

Links and Resources to Explore

• Join Sophia as she shows you one of her family’s favorite dishes: https://sprinklewithsoil.com/pho
• Follow Sophia on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sprinklewithsoil

Listen to the Full Episode – Available now on   Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.

Sophia’s story reminded me what this podcast is all about—real people living real ancestral values in a modern world. If you’ve been feeling disconnected or wondering how to bridge the gap between tradition and now, this episode is your roadmap. Listen in, take notes, and then call someone you love. That’s where it all begins.