shopping cart
Save up to 30% on our Staff Picks
Call us:  800-878-7323 HELP
McAfee SECURE helps keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.
Original Essays | December 12, 2009

Alexander McCall Smith: IMG The Courage of Others



I have recently written a novel about life in England during the Second World War. I felt some concern before I tackled this theme — the War... Continue »
  1. $16.76 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    La's Orchestra Saves the World

    Alexander McCall Smith

Ships free on qualified orders.
Add to Cart
$5.95
List price: $13.00
Used Trade Paper
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
2 Burnside Asia- China Peoples Republic 1949 to Present
16 Local Warehouse Asia- China Peoples Republic 1949 to Present

This title in other formats:

Falling Leaves: The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter

by Adeline Yen Mah

Falling Leaves: The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter Cover

ISBN13: 9780767903578
ISBN10: 0767903579
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Born in 1937 in a port city a thousand miles north of Shanghai, Adeline Yen Mah was the youngest child of an affluent Chinese family who enjoyed rare privileges during a time of political and cultural upheaval. But wealth and position could not shield Adeline from a childhood of appalling emotional abuse at the hands of a cruel and manipulative Eurasian stepmother. Determined to survive through her enduring faith in family unity, Adeline struggled for independence as she moved from Hong Kong to England and eventually to the United States to become a physician and writer. <BR>A compelling, painful, and ultimately triumphant story of a girl's journey into adulthood, Adeline's story is a testament to the most basic of human needs: acceptance, love, and understanding. With a powerful voice that speaks of the harsh realities of growing up female in a family and society that kept girls in emotional chains, Falling Leaves is a work of heartfelt intimacy and a rare authentic portrait of twentieth-century China.

Review:

"I read for two nights, sleepless, my heart pierced by Adeline Yen Mah's account of her terrible childhood. Falling Leaves is a potent psychological drama pitting a stubborn little girl against the most merciless of adversaries and rivals: her own family. I am still haunted by Mah's memoir."
-Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club

Review:

"Painful and lovely, at once heartbreaking and heartening."
-Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post

Review:

"Brilliant, compelling, and unforgettable. A heartrending modern-day Cinderella story set against the turbulence of twentieth-century China. Autobiography at its best."
-Nien Chang, author of Life and Death in Shanghai

About the Author

Adeline Yen Mah is a physician and writer who lives in Huntington Beach, California, and spends time as well in London and Hong Kong.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
kate12, September 28, 2008 (view all comments by kate12)
think this boook shows you kids out there who parents totally forget them and how they feel they'd been aboanded ignored etc so we should be grateful to have parents who care for us.we have everything but still we want more and we cant be bothered to study Adeline went through alot if you ask me shift to a bordening sckool to another she went through lot of grive and sorrow but put her head up to shopw the world and her parents that she can do it .she was ittlengent to prove niang wrong .it really touches me in the heart when i read and sometimes shread a few tears.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(8 of 15 readers found this comment helpful)

Product Details

ISBN:
9780767903578
Subtitle:
The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter
Author:
Mah, Adeline Yen
Author:
Yen Mah, Adeline
Publisher:
Broadway Books
Location:
New York :
Subject:
California
Subject:
Social life and customs
Subject:
Biography
Subject:
Women
Subject:
China
Subject:
Asia - China
Subject:
Ethnic Cultures
Subject:
Chinese americans
Subject:
Women physicians
Subject:
China Social life and customs.
Subject:
Ethnic Cultures - General
Subject:
California Biography.
Edition Description:
1st Broadway Books trade pbk. ed.
Publication Date:
April 1999
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
304
Dimensions:
8.02x5.30x.81 in. .57 lbs.

Other books you might like

  1. $23.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list

    Mao: The Unknown Story

    Jung Chang and Jon Halliday
  2. $2.00 Used Trade Paper add to wish list
  3. $3.95 Used Mass Market add to wish list
  4. $2.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list
  5. $9.50 Used Hardcover add to wish list
  6. $6.95 New Trade Paper add to wish list

    Roughnecks

    Thomas Cochran

Related Aisles

  • back to top

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.