Those who don't heed the warnings don't live to admit they were stupid not to do so.

Why do you have to use me to show off? If you want to show off, then why don't you learn to play chess." - Ch. 5

But I was no longer sacared. I could see what was inside me. -Lindo

My favorite anything is always relative to the context of present time, place and mood. When I finish a book and want to immediately find another by the same author and no other, that author is elevated to my favorite.

Hope is the adrenalin of the soul.

I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these things do not mix?

My mother imparted her daily truths so she could help my older brothers and me rise above our circumstances. We lived in San Francisco's Chinatown. Like most of the other Chinese children who played in the back alleys of restaurants and curio shops, I didn't think we were poor. My bowl was always full, three five-course meals every day, beginning with a soup full of mysterious things I didn't want to know the names of.