My Own Hui Gui

Hui Gui, my first novel published in 2005, a family saga set against a tumultuous time in China from the Long March of 1934 to the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, to the influx of refugees into the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong in the early 50s, and on to 1997, the return of Hong Kong to the motherland, Hui Gui. Against this background I wove a story of love and loss, courage and survival, a personal homecoming against the political expanse of Hui Gui, the triumph of the spirit over the inevitabilities of the human predicament. 

Seventeen years have passed since the publication of Hui Gui. But one of my greatest triumphs as a writer is a email I just received from a friend I haven't heard from for a while, telling me that when her son was in high school, he chose my Hui Gui to read for a book report. In the email, she told me she thought that was the first spark of her son's interest in China, resulting in his present-day teaching at a reputable university there. She ends with this message which moved me to tears on reading it: "Congratulations on the success you've had from following your heart. And know that at least one person was inspired to explore the world because of one of your stories."