This novel follows the stories of Chinese students as they arrive in the United States in the early 1980s and struggle with the challenges of transitioning to their new lives. Having grown up in China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution, these young intellectuals immediately face a completely different world. They quickly learn that living in America brings advantages to their careers, yet carries its own difficulties and burdens. Raymond Liu is a graduate student when the red tornado of the Cultural Revolution sweeps across China. Sent from his studies to plant rice in a small village, he soon meets Wendy Zhou. Wendy was a Zhiqing and had been separated from her parents as an infant; when her guardians passed away, they left her a diamond ring, which carries a family history. After suffering a tragic event together, Raymond and Wendy marry. In 1981, Raymond leaves for the U.S. to continue his studies, becoming a professor and an expert in virology. Wendy soon follows him, where she is able to reunite with her long-lost mother and siblings. Her cousin Tingting Cheng also moves to the U.S., in search of her first love, Raymond Liu... Experience these immigrants' emotional conflicts, family struggles, joys, and heartbreaks as they face the realities of pursuing the American Dream. You will learn their motivations for leaving China, how they adapt to life in the U.S., and how their views of American life evolve...
About the Author: Dr. PengPeng Pam Z. Tang (pen name Fancao) was born in China. As a young woman, she experienced the red tornado of the Great Cultural Revolution. She became a graduate student at the Chinese Academy of Science in 1978, when the graduate school reopened after the Cultural Revolution. Dr. Tang came to the United States in 1980 to continue her studies and received her PhD in 1985. She settled into American life and developed an accomplished career, including roles as university faculty and management in the private sector. She is now happily retired and enjoying life. As an author, Dr. Tang predominantly writes in her native language. Her works explore the introduction of American life, customs, and ideas in contrast to Chinese traditions and culture, and the challenges that arise in learning to navigate and transition from one world to the other. Her writing has been published both in print and online. Her personal essay, "Caught in the Nostalgia," is published by Jilin Publishing Group (2011). Dr. Tang was the chief editor of an anthology of works by overseas Chinese Zhiqing, the generation of Chinese youths sent from urban areas to the Chinese countryside. This collection, "Look Backward, God -- An Anthology of Lost Youth by Overseas Chinese Zhiqing" is published in the US (2008) and China (2013). She also has novels released online in both countries.