The stories of four Chinese women and their American-born daughters are unraveled through a series of vignettes that reveal the lives of the four older women and the tragedies they endured before coming to America. The memories of the past are then linked to the present day to illuminate the sometimes difficult relationships between the mothers and daughters

Winnie Louie, an aging Chinese woman convinced that she will die soon, decides to unburden herself by divulging the secrets of those closest to her and to her suspicious, Americanized daughter

"From New York Times bestselling author Amy Tan, a memoir on her life as a writer, her childhood, and the symbiotic relationship between fiction and emotional memory"-- "In Where the Past Begins, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan is at her most intimate, revealing the truths and inspirations that underlie her extraordinary fiction. By delving into vivid memories of her traumatic childhood, confessions of...

Amy Tan's The Valley of Amazement is a sweeping, evocative epic of two women's intertwined fates and their search for identity, that moves from the lavish parlors of Shanghai courtesans to the fog-shrouded mountains of a remote Chinese village. Spanning more than forty years and two continents, The Valley of Amazement resurrects pivotal episodes in history: from the collapse of China's last imperial dynasty, to the rise of the Republic, the explosive...

Ming Miao tells her kittens about the antics of one of their ancestors, Sagwa of China, that produced the unusual markings they have had for thousands of years

In Where the Past Begins, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan reveals the ways that our memories and personal experiences can inform our creative work. Drawing on her vivid impressions of her upbringing, Tan investigates the truths and inspirations behind her writing while illuminating how we all explore, confront, and process complex memories, especially half-forgotten ones from childhood. With candor, empathy,...

Three bored sisters on a rainy afternoon make wish after wish- for the rain to stop, to play in the puddles- something, anything. Capturing their attention, their grandmother recounts a mesmerizing childhood memory of a magical night long ago when secret wishes came true. She relates what happened when Ying-ying was seven and celebrating the Moon Festival in China. On that long-ago night of the Moon Festival, she encountered...

Thirteen-year-old Jamie must spend her summer volunteering at Foxfield Public Library, but quickly grows to love the people there and enthusiastically joins the fight to save the library

Follows the story of four lifelong friends, whose lives are filled with joy and heartbreak, and shows how their experiences have affected the hopes and dreams they hold for each of their children