Falling Leaves was an AMAZING book. It was touching and heart-wrenching, and I could not put it down. Adeline Yen Mah's story is so sad, and one realizes all the obstacles she had to overcome. I highly recommend this book for all mature readers, as it is an excellent and eye-opening work of art.

all of us cling to the belief that our parents would love us and protect us no matter what. This book brought home the cruel fact that family members are related by chance only. It,s lottery!! I heart ached as Adeline recalled her story. I felt I was living her life while I was reading the book.I was that little girl that no one wanted to remember .At the same time, I wanted to reach across time and hug her and confort her. Perhaps it's impossible to imagine all this if one had grown up in a warm and loving family. I salute Adeline for her courage to get her story out.Most of us whom have survived similar experience could not bear to even admit to ourselves that our family did not care. After all, It might mean we were not lovable. "falling Leaves" is a wonderful study of family dynamics . Each charcter teachs me something about human nature.Most of all, I appalud the human spirit. Adeline has shown that out of the mud, a lovely lily emerges.

A masterpiece of over half a million words, Sima Qian's Shiji chronicled events from the reign of the Yellow Emperor, 2,400 years earlier still, to the time of his royal service under China's consolidating Emperor Wu. Master Sima's history is a colorful narrative of the words and deeds of royalty, ministers, philosophers, merchants, teachers, assassins, comedians, landlords, and thieves. It is not just a litany of government programs and accomplishments, it is a people's history about their times. Mme. Yen Mah uses this same literary device. For example, her chapter titled with the proverb "One Written Word is Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold," opens with "Aunt Baba was always like a mother to me. After the death of my grandmother we grew even closer. She paid the greatest attention to everything about me: my health, my appearance ... most of all, she cared about my education." From there, Mme. Yen Mah dives into the origin of the proverb by relating the history of old King Zao of Qin (251 B.C.E.) and Merchant Lu, illustrating the ancient origins of Chinese reverence for the written word and scholarship.

Adeline Yen Mahs latest book is a perfect interweaving of personal reminiscence and ancient Chinese history. She has translated accounts from Shiji, a historical record published in China in the last century BC and therefore referring to events in the two centuries before that, and related them to contemporary events in her own life. Accounts of the First and Second Chinese Emperors, their wars and the intrigues of their courtiers, are interspersed with original proverbs which are depicted in the Chinese script. This English reader, relying on the English translations of these proverbs, was impressed with their universal truth. Why should that be a surprise when human beings worldwide are a single species with emotions and actions that are universal? William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe sixteen centuries later, encapsulated similar human frailties in their plays. Even the characters of the two Emperors, the weaker following the stronger, show parallels in English history: for example, the weaker Edward II followed Edward I, the weaker Richard II followed Edward III, the weaker Henry VI followed Henry V. There is a lot of Chinese wisdom in these texts. - Paula Alderson

A thousand pieces of gold: Adeline Yen Mah's latest book is a perfect interweaving of personal reminiscence and ancient Chinese history. She has translated accounts from Shiji, a historical record published in China in the last century BC and therefore referring to events in the two centuries before that, and related them to contemporary events in her own life. Accounts of the First and Second Chinese Emperors, their wars and the intrigues of their courtiers, are interspersed with original proverbs which are depicted in the Chinese script. This English reader, relying on the English translation of these proverbs, was impressed with their universal truth. Why should that be a surprise when human beings worldwide are a single species with emotions and actions that are universal? William Shakespeare, sixteen centuries later, encapsulated similar human frailties in his plays. Even the characters of the two Emperors, the weaker following the stronger, show parallels in English history: for example, the weak Edward II followed Edward I, the weak Richard II followed Edward III and the weak Henry VI followed Henry V. There is a lot of Chinese wisdom hidden in these texts.
Paula Alderson ...

Chinese Cinderella isn't the best book but a good book for children like her. I give it 3 stars because the story was too detailed. She included every second about her life. Adeline Yen Mah lived with her father and step mother. But was sent to Sacred Heart Orphange school because nobody wanted her. Adeline's aunt baba, nai nai and yeye cared for her. But wasn't living with her all the time. Her niang (step mother) treated Adenline very poorly and spoiled her own kids. It was an unfair life. But Adeline Yen Mah survived through it. Read Falling Leaves also a true story about her life by Adeline Yen Mah. This book wasn't as sad. But when you read it, you really want to keep reading and never put the book down.

A photo of a little girl, Adeline Yen wearing an old-fashioned dress was printed on the cover of this book. This book is called Chinese Cinderella, which is a secret story of Adeline, the narrator. Thinking that there must be a touching story behind her, so I chose this book to read. After reading the story, I become very sympathetic with Adeline¡¦s childhood experience. Adeline was always very strong when facing her childhood difficulties. The book turns out to be exactly what I expected and it is a very touching story indeed. I especially enjoy the struggles Adeline had.

When Adeline¡¦s mother died after giving birth to her, her family considered Adeline was bad luck and she was made to feel unwanted all her life. However, she struggled on and proven her worth. Within Adeline¡¦s family, she could never choose what she liked and often received unfair treatments. Even though her father allowed her to go to university in England , she could only study what her father wished.

I like the book because the story inspires me to be strong even when facing difficulties. When Adeline was in her primary stage, nobody was coming to pick her up after school even when it was her first time at a new school. Adeline walked on streets tentatively and entered a shop to phone her family to pick her up, but she didn¡¦t cry. After that, she learnt to use a map. Obviously nobody would look out for Adeline and always forced to find her own way by herself.

This book is really inspirational to me. If you read it, you will get something from it!

In "Chinese Cinderella," Adeline Yen Mah has adapted the story of her loveless childhood for a younger audience. Without watering down the misery and the bitterness that she suffered at the hands of her vicious stepmother and her cruel father, she writes in a way that children can easily understand. Mah had few role models as a child, since her mother died shortly after she was born, and her stepmother loathed her. Only her Grandfather Ye Ye and her Aunt Baba showed her any affection at all. She was mercilessly abused by her parents and by her siblings. Fortunately, Adeline was an accomplished student, and she gained a feeling of self-worth from her scholastic accomplishments. Children who have felt lonely and unwanted can take heart from Adeline's story. She persisted in trying to make something of her life, in spite of her lonely and depressing childhood. For a more detailed story of Adeline Yen Mah's life, read "Falling Leaves," which is written for an adult audience. For children, "Chinese Cinderella" is a poignant and heartbreaking story of a young girl's courage and perseverance.

"Watching the Tree" is a meditation on the philosophies that have shaped Chinese thought over the millenia. The West has its Judeo-Christian traditions and Puritan work ethic: China has Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. There's a saying that only the fish doesn't know water: we have to leave our surroundings to understand them. Adeline Yen Mah left French-occupied Shanghai and British-administered Hong Kong to earn a medical degree in England from Oxford University, and then worked in the US as a doctor for thirty years. Now she's on a mission to explain to us what makes the other one fourth of the world's population 'tick'.

This isn't a textbook, and it isn't an autobiography, although the author draws heavily from her experience of living with her adored Buddhist grandfather. It's a meandering walk through Chinese history (all 8,000 or more years of it) and Chinese foods, medicine, language and writing. We learn how Confucius (Kong Fu Zi) strove to rid China of its cruel mandarin ruling class and replace it with an educated meritocracy -- and left a long-term legacy of a stultifying bureaucracy and contempt for feminine intellect. We learn how Taoism was subverted into a set of kitschy superstitions. And how Buddhism merged with Chinese thought to become Zen.

The book is beautifully presented. The paper is fine quality and the text clear and well laid out. Dr Yen often gives the traditional Chinese ideograms for Chinese words and explains their derivation. What we write and what we say is what we think. No wonder the Chinese government has difficulty with the concepts of 'human rights' and 'privacy' when they have no words for them. And we have no words for tao or li or qi. We have a lot to learn.

This book covers the essentials of Chinese culture in a very cohesive, antidotal way, and its enjoyable to read. The author brings together elements of the written language, history, legend, food, medicine and more in the best example that I've seen of explaining the Chinese culture to the non-chinese.

It's the single best source for understanding the Chinese culture. If you're going to China - whether a novice or china expert - you'll get a lot out of this book.

Adeline Yen Mah writes with sometimes painful honesty about her life in general, her personal relationships as well as her family, community and country. I don't recall having read a book that could be so moving and yet so intellectually enriching. Anyone doing business in China, Japan, Korea or Malaysia should read this book and carry it in their briefcase. Beyond the poignant stories of her personal life, the book offers an enormous scope of information and insights. If you have ever wondered about Feng Shui, the I Ching, the Tao, Buddha and Confucius, you will find this book very interesting. If you have some scientific background you will be fascinated by her discussion about Hiesenberg's "Uncertainty Principle", Quantum Physics, String Theory as well as references to Carl Jung, Galileo, Spinoza, the Dalai Lama, the Julian Calendar vs. the Chinese Calendar, Laplace, Leibniz and the list goes on! She is a Physician and writer with a keen sense about philosophy, the history of science and mathematics. There is no word or concept for "human rights" in Chinese and her explanation is a real eye opener. The profound influence of Confucius for over 2500 years and the late adoption of the zero (1247 AD) explain a lot about the history of China. She writes with respect towards the reader and has an obvious reverence for her subject matter. I have only one disappointment. There is no index to help the reader to return to the many points of interest in the book.

Falling Leaves is an exquisitely written memoir of Adeline Yen Mah's life growing up in Communist China. It is a haunting tale of lost innocence, of loneliness, and of a life filled with emotional pain and psychological trauma. The story opens with the reading of Adeline's wealthy father's will, which left nothing for Adeline and her four siblings from his first wife. From there, Adeline's narrative brings us back into her family history, weaving an exotic tale of a wealthy family from Tianjin, China. It is a story that brought Adeline from China to Hong Kong and finally to America where she settled down in California as a physician with a family of her own to raise.

Falling Leaves is a poignant story of Adeline's journey into adulthood. It was a journey fraught with personal trauma and emotional abuse. Adeline's mother died giving birth to her, leaving behind a child devoid of any parental love. After her father remarried, Adeline suffered physical and emotional abuse under her manipulative stepmother, Niang. Determined to escape from her parent's oppression, Adeline left home and took up residency as a doctor in America. But no matter how far she went, she could not leave behind her past. Just like "falling leaves that return to their roots," Adeline's journey ended when she returned back home to China for a visit and in the process found peace and reconciliation in her life.

This compelling novel is the true story of an unwanted Chinese daughter. Falling Leaves, brilliantly written by Adeline Yen Mah, follows the unforgettable journey of the author herself, set against the turbulence of 20th century China.

Adeline's mother died in childbirth and she was raised by her father and her beautiful Eurasian stepmother, Niang, along with her five older siblings. In their home in Shanghai, Niang treated her stepchildren like second class citizens. While her own two children were given fine clothes, banquets and special privileges, her stepchildren were treated bitterly and without respect. Adeline, in particular, suffered appalling emotional abuse. Her siblings bullied and beat her. Adeline's family considered her worthless.

Adeline was sent to boarding school and was forbidden to receive visitors and mail. While her family cruelly shut her out, she continued to seek refuge amongst her beloved school work. Adeline finally gained freedom and fled to England, where she went to university and found at last what she had always looked for. A life with respect.

This is an unforgettable book that lingers long in the memory. I would recommend it for all to read, I was gripped from beginning to end. Utterly breathtaking, Falling Leaves raises issues that will have the readers thinking.
Excellent, 10 out of 10 reading!

This was one of the most touching stories I have ever read; it is beautifuly written and heartrenching, yet warms the spirit to hear of such a strong soul! I cried at the injustices Adeline suffered at the hands of her father and especially her step-mother. I was also moved to tears by the injustice endured by her family at the hands of the angry mobs in revolutionary China. I was overjoyed and excited for her in her triumphs. I came to feel love and care for this amazing young woman from China, a place so foriegn to me. I came to better understand what compels others to do things not in their own best intrests in order to gain the acceptance and affection of a loved one. I believe we should thank Ms. Adeline Yen Mah for her courage and strengh and her gift to us, that of sharing her amazing spirit with her readers. I encountered great difficulty putting this book down, and when not reading I found myself thinking of the story! A wonderful literary expierience for anyone!