Wow! eBook
Good Fortune: My Journey to Gold Mountain Reprint Edition
Author(s): Li Keng Wong (Author)
- Publisher: Peachtree
- Publication Date: October 7, 2008
- Edition: Reprint
- Language: English
- Print length: 144 pages
- ISBN-10: 1561454648
- ISBN-13: 9781561454648
Book Description
In 1933, seven-year-old Li Keng’s life changed forever when her father decided to bring his family from a small village in southern China to California. Getting to America was not easy, as their family faced America’s strict anti-Chinese immigration laws that meant any misstep could mean deportation and disgrace.
Life in America during the Great Depression brought many exciting surprises as well as many challenges. Hunger, poverty, police raids, frequent moves, and the occasional sting of racism were a part of everyday life, but slowly Li Keng and her family found stability and a true home in “Gold Mountain.”
An author’s note contains photos and an update on Li Keng Wong’s family. This evocative memoir presents the joys and sorrows of pursuing the American Dream during a time of racism and great poverty, but also immense opportunity. The book also contains information on Angel Island and its significance in history as well as an explanation of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“The vivid cultural details. . . are fascinating, whether Wong is describing her mother’s traditional wedding or the family’s first apartment in California, where her father coped with the Depression by running a gambling business in the family’s front room. The plain words leave room for readers to imagine their own emotional responses.”
—Booklist
