A native-born New Yorker, Yang is a second-generation Taiwanese-American. He was born into a family of doctors (including his grandfather, father, and a couple of uncles), and his parents were deeply disappointed by his choice of writing over medicine.
生於紐約的楊致和是第二代台灣移民，生長在祖父、父親、叔叔伯伯等親戚全是醫生的家庭，父母對他棄醫就文，很是失望。