A Memoir

Falling Leaves
by Adeline Yen Mah

"The Memoir of an Unwanted
Chinese Daugher"

I absolutely loved this book. I like memoirs and this fit the bill. I could hardly put it down. It is the story of a child born in 1937 in China. She was the youngest child of an affluent Chinese family. She suffered appalling emotional abuse from her Eurasian stepmother. She was determined to survive and struggled for independence from her family. She moved to Hong Kong, and then to England and finally to the U.S. where she became a physician and a writer. Most of the book takes place during the "Cultural Revolution" in China (Communist take-over). It was fascinating to find out how this all took place and how the people lived at that time. It is especially significant because of what's going on in China now because of the Olympics. After reading this book you'll appreciate your life in America so much more, and any problems you might have in your family pale in comparison to the Yen family. I loved this book almost as much as "Stolen Lives" and "Memoirs of a Geisha".