Beautiful Country

In 1994, at seven years old Qian lands in New York on a plane from China with her Ma Ma (mother). A precocious little girl, she was anxious beyond belief to see her Ba Ba (father) who had arrived a few years earlier promising with every phone call a better life in the beautiful country, Mei Guo (America). In Chinatown the undocumented threesome struggle for years working in sweatshops, slowly learning the English language and American ways. With few friends and no extended family for support, what they once had perceived as success for themselves is now purely survival. Living in severe poverty with the threat of deportation hanging over their heads, the Wang family find little joy and much anxiety in America. Before the Chinese Cultural Revolution, her parents were distinguished professors - now they perform backbreaking manual labor. Qian quickly finds her only happiness in books at the public library, a treasured safe space. A voracious reader she quickly teaches herself English and learns to adapt, always feeling a great responsibility for her parents well being. After her Ma Ma overcomes a serious illness she is resolute that they cannot wait any longer to get citizenship. Today, working as a civil rights litigator dedicated to helping immigrants and other marginalized communities, Qian shares her journey in this magnificent memoir of resilience, faith and much love. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️