This family memoir, co-authored with my father, is the story of how my grandmother, Ruth Mei-en Ts’ao Chai, saved the family in China during World War II.
It is also our search to understand her decision at the end of her life to be buried alone rather in the plots that she and my grandfather had purchased together decades earlier.
To watch a short video about life in China during World War II and my family’s experiences, please click here: The Girl from Purple Mountain video
If your book club or reading group would like a list of discussion questions, please click here:
Girl from Purple Mountain-Book Club
For more information, check out my website, www.BooksByChai.com! BooksByChai website–The Girl From Purple Mountain page
For updates join my Facebook fan page! Click here–Facebook Fan Page for May-lee Chai
Dear May-lee, I loved THE GIRL FROM PURPLE MOUNTAIN. You and your father struck such a beautiful balance between emotional memoir and history. I was instantly drawn in and very touched by the honest writing about difficult family relationships. Since my documentary FINDING KUKAN deals with the same time period in China and I have never even been to China, your book was a valuable window into what it was like for people living under those circumstances. Ruth has been added to my growing collection of Chinese women heroes. aloha, Robin
Thank you, Robin!