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I have some pretty mixed feelings about this book.

I very much enjoyed most of it... but, the end of the book did not sit well with me, though.
For the bulk of the story, we learn of an extremely intelligent, driven, and hard working girl who grows into a pretty amazing young woman (in spite of extreme hardship). Her account of her childhood and college years is a compelling read - I found that I had developed great admiration for the strength and leadership she developed. I continued to feel this way until the very end of the book.

In the closing chapters of the book, she becomes a self proclaimed "Jesus follower." This (not surprisingly) entirely changes her outlook. In many ways, the consequences are not unfortunate... but in others... It made me very sad that she attributed her successes, hard work, and intelligence not to her own strength of character, but to god. This happens all the time, and it makes me sad every time it does.

The authors spends a fair amount of the closing pages trying to find a way to be forgiven for the forced abortions she had when she was young (and forgiving other women for the abortions - both forced and chosen). Seeking forgiveness for a forced abortion is like seeking forgiveness for being raped - you did not sin. No forgiveness is necessary. This made me sad and a little angry.

I finished the book, but I found the ending particularly problematic considering it was written by a woman who is spearheading a campaign to promote awareness of the rights of girls and women worldwide.

I'll give it more thought... but for now, I am glad to have read the book and learned the story of this amazing woman.

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I remember the news coverage of the atrocities of the Chinese government in the days surrounding the Tiananmen Square massacre. I now have a greater appreciation for the struggles and sacrifices of those brave Chinese students.

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I abandoned this at the halfway point, it was just too slow. The events that the book claims to be about had only just begun by the time I stopped reading. A lot of authors make this mistake--writing in great detail about their early life, families and childhood when it doesn't have much if anything to do with their subject. Maybe a really famous person or someone with a fascinating life can do this but otherwise their auto-biography may only end up being of interest to their family members or someone studying their life for a history project! One chapter on early life as an intro is okay but beyond that.....zzzzzzz.

The author gives personal details about mistakes she made resulting in at least three abortions. She goes into a lot of the reasons for these and the circumstances. This served to shine a light on the effects of China's laws relating to marriage and family life--one child policy and needing to have a combined age of 48 prior to any marriage...

The book is actually about the author's involvement in leading democratic protests that led to mass casualties in China when the authorities acted to quell the peaceful demonstration. It was one of the first such attempts to challenge the regime. But, as the author waited a number of decades before writing about it, the events in question have probably faded from the vast majority of memories, although I'm sure the families still sadly grieve the tragedy that took so many student lives.

I read elsewhere that the author gave an interview to the media and subsequently tried to prevent its disclosure. She effectively said during the interview which occurred before the uprising that it would take a mass slaughter of students by the government to make their protest heard. There was understandable consternation about her comments as it was suggested by some that the students had deliberately caused the deaths by their actions, turning themselves into martyrs for the cause.

I didn't get as far as reading about the author's conversion to Christianity in 2009.

This book may appeal to those interested in China, communism, activism or with a particular interest in this uprising. I didn't really enjoy it but others might. There was no bad language or sexual content and the violence wasn't graphic, at least up to the halfway point....



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A moving and inspiring autobiography of one woman's quest for freedom, meaning and significance. ( )