Feather in the Storm by Emily Wu
I love reading about all things Chinese. The people and the culture fascinate me. I've read many books both fiction and memoir about the Chinese way of life. Feather in the Storm is Emily's story of her life and that of her family while caught in the middle of Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution.
What struck me the most while I read this story is that this was all happening in the 1960's and 70's. Emily is the same age as me. There I was going to school, shopping in a well stocked grocery store and having a carefree childhood. On the other side of the world, Emily is denied the ability to read books, food is rationed and she's shuffled from town to remote village and back again at the whim of the Communist party. I was safely tucked into my same cozy bed each and every night. And when my parents made me clean my dinner plate by saying, "There are starving children in China," they didn't make that up. They had watched the evening news.
Much of this story is tough to read. Emily is a sweet and loving girl who makes a lot of friends along the way. And she learns how to discern between the good and the bad, or in other words how to play the game. She reaches her breaking point many times, but she gathers her inner strength and keeps on going.
Feather in the Storm is a story that is a history lesson with a personal touch. This memoir is a true testament to the strength and resiliency of the human spirit.
I love reading about all things Chinese. The people and the culture fascinate me. I've read many books both fiction and memoir about the Chinese way of life. Feather in the Storm is Emily's story of her life and that of her family while caught in the middle of Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution.
What struck me the most while I read this story is that this was all happening in the 1960's and 70's. Emily is the same age as me. There I was going to school, shopping in a well stocked grocery store and having a carefree childhood. On the other side of the world, Emily is denied the ability to read books, food is rationed and she's shuffled from town to remote village and back again at the whim of the Communist party. I was safely tucked into my same cozy bed each and every night. And when my parents made me clean my dinner plate by saying, "There are starving children in China," they didn't make that up. They had watched the evening news.
Much of this story is tough to read. Emily is a sweet and loving girl who makes a lot of friends along the way. And she learns how to discern between the good and the bad, or in other words how to play the game. She reaches her breaking point many times, but she gathers her inner strength and keeps on going.
Feather in the Storm is a story that is a history lesson with a personal touch. This memoir is a true testament to the strength and resiliency of the human spirit.
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