[3][4] Chang majored in English literature and political philosophy at Cornell University, and moved back to Los Angeles after finding an internship at LA Weekly.
[6] In late summer 2008, Chang attended a launch party for Trump Tower Dubai, held in a Bel Air mansion, as an editor for the luxury magazine Angeleno.
During the party, she noted that Wolfgang Puck was creating and serving hors d'oeuvres dusted with 24-karat gold and guests were being serenaded by Christina Aguilera.
While waiting for the valet to retrieve her car after the party, she found an iPod Touch in her gift bag and was inspired to write about the impending upheaval which manifested in the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers a few weeks later: "We are about to collapse under the weight of our own excess ... [but] when the world falls apart, anything can happen.
When Chang submitted the unsolicited manuscript to Eddie Huang's literary agent, Marc Gerald, it was accepted and the publishing rights were put up for auction.