Book Review: Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

What happens when you find out that your mother is your aunt and your aunt is really your mother? So, your father is not your father. Joy, then, runs halfway around the world to Shanghai in 1957 in search of her real father. Lisa See, author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, returns to China to continue the story of Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls and Joy, Pearl’s nineteen-year-old daughter. See’s historical novel places Joy in Communist China chasing the ideals of the New Society of Red China under the dictatorial rule of Mao. Pearl chases after her daughter confronting the horrors of her home country which she had fled from twenty years earlier. Two women with two dreams travel from the crowed city of Shanghai to the remote villages of the outlying country, one in search of the love of her father and the other in search of her daughter’s love. Will a mother’s love prevail? In Dreams of Joy, as well as, her other novels, See reveals the influence of Amy Tan who, also, explores the theme of mother/ daughter relationships that is universal in all cultures.

50 Years of Life

We come to a point in life where we want to know we’ve made a difference, conquered our challenges and take stock of our accomplishments, milestones and rites of passage.

This is my list for my 50 years of life:

50 years old
1 of six kids
12 years of Catholic school education
3 daughters
2 marriages to the same man
2 divorces from said man
2 college degrees: BA in Theatre Arts, MA in Drama
8 years to complete them
1 certificate: Pharmacy Technician
100+ miles walked in walk-a-thons
$10,000+ sold in toys
12 years owning the same car
195,000 miles on that car
17 years old when I bought my first car on a loan from the bank
2 cats I live with
12 years living with multiple sclerosis
5 years living with bipolar illness
1 childhood pony named Holly
12 years old when I got my ears pierced for the first time
19 years old when I got my ears pierced for the second time
1 litter of kittens born on my doorstep on my 36^th birthday
1 litter of kittens born in the basement when I was a kid
1 litter of kittens born in a wood pile when my girls were toddlers
1 litter of kittens born in my closet one year before the doorstep litter
1 dog I named Lazy
1 cat I rolled over with the car
10 years as a drama instructor
27 years of motherhood
1 grandchild expected, next month
15 houses or apartments I have lived in
$0 in debt
2 bankruptcies
1 major surgery
3 broken arms
2 major car accidents
3 ½ weeks visit in Great Britain, England and Scotland
2 trips to Hawaii
3 trips to New York
200+ Facebook friends
13 Goodreads friends
136 books read since I started tracking them on Goodreads
58 connections on LikedIn
25 years of volunteer work from designing costumes to PTA to selling books
The blessings continue…

To add two more
1 year of blogging
50 postings

Where I’ve been and what I have done doesn’t necessarily define me now. What I know: faith, hope and love goes a long way and keeping a smile on your face every day.

Here’s to 50 more!