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Cover of Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah

Chinese Cinderella

  • 224 pages · about 4 hours
  • First published 1999
  • 26 editions

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1 About this book

A riveting memoir of a girl's painful coming-of-age in a wealthy Chinese family during the 1940s.A Chinese proverb says, "Falling leaves return to their roots." In Chinese Cinderella, Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph and courage in the face of despair.

Adeline's affluent, powerful family considers her bad luck after her mother dies giving birth to her. Life does not get any easier when her father remarries. She and her siblings are subjected to the disdain of her stepmother, while her stepbrother and stepsister are spoiled.

Although Adeline wins prizes at school, they are not enough to compensate for what she really yearns for -- the love and understanding of her family. Following the success of the critically acclaimed adult bestseller Falling Leaves, this memoir is a moving telling of the classic Cinderella story, with Adeline Yen Mah providing her own courageous voice.

  • Chinese Americans
  • Biography & autobiography
  • Biography
  • Women, biography
  • China, biography
  • Family life
  • Autobiography and memoir
  • Women, united states

2 About Adeline Yen Mah

Born 1937

Adeline Yen Mah (simplified Chinese: 马严君玲; traditional Chinese: 馬嚴君玲; pinyin: Mǎ Yán Jūnlíng) (馬嚴君玲) (legal birthday 30 November 1937) is a Chinese-American author and physician. She grew up in Tianjin, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and is known for her autobiography Falling Leaves.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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