4 out of 4 stars
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In My Life, author Doug Shepardson shares the true story of his friend Marie Tam (Zhong Jiao Chin), a Chinese-American woman who was born in California, but spent many years living in Hong Kong and China. During her time in these locations, Ms. Tam endured the brutality of the Japanese occupation during WWII, and later the horrors of the Communist uprising. Ms. Tam's story is one of happiness, heartbreak, and courage in the face of tremendous hardship.
My Life is a captivating tale of life during an extremely difficult period in recent history. Unfortunately, many Westerners are unaware of the atrocities committed by the Japanese during World War II, and are underinformed about the brutalities committed during China's Communist uprising. Ms. Tam's story provides a close-up encounter with these events and adds tremendous depth to the reader's knowledge of those times. Her story is shared in a forthright manner that is detailed, but not too harsh for more sensitive readers.
The book flows evenly and transitions from Ms. Tam's different living circumstances smoothly. The major events that unfolded--both on an international and personal level--in Ms. Tam's life were easy to follow and skillfully interwoven to provide a picture of everyday life during Ms. Tam's years in China and Hong Kong. The writing itself is good overall, and errors within are minimal and easy to overlook.
Although most of the events of the story are presented very matter-of-factly, this book did not fail to evoke an emotional response within me on many levels. I found it easy to empathize with the joy, fear, suffering, and hope experienced by Ms. Tam and her family members. I will not disrespect Ms. Tam's experiences by saying that I could identify with those emotions (I have never been through anything that comes close to what she endured), but I was deeply moved.
I only have one minor criticism of My Life, which is that some of the pictures within the book are extremely small and difficult to make out. I suspect a formatting issue with the e-book may be to blame, and although my enjoyment was in no way diminished by the photos, I would have liked to been able to see them better.
Formatting issues aside, My Life is a moving and informative book, and I award it 4 out of 4 stars. Ms. Tam's story reveals little-known facts about World War II and the country of China, and I feel that hers is one that people need to know about. Therefore, I would recommend this book to everybody.
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My Life
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An excellent review!
