I loved this intricate story here written about the authors Mother. Excellent writing and excellent storytelling! I was hooked from the first page. ( )

MY REVIEW
Veronica e-mailed me to request that I read and review this book, and I have to say a large Thankyou to Veronica because I thoroughly enjoyed reading this account of her families life and how the history of China affected each of them. Flora had to undertake many arduous journeys to finally find a safe place to call home for herself and her family, she had to make some very difficult decisions.
I enjoyed reading the intricacies of how the Chinese family worked. The way Veronica's grandfather, Lo Bak, had married two sisters and at different times during the conflicts within China the two sisters and their families actually lived under the same roof! At certain times Veronica's mother even lived under the same roof too in the middle of all the inter family politics! Flora Li (Veronica's mother) had a hard life, her own mother was particularly hard on her and seemed to blame Flora Li for everything that went wrong in her own life. Flora did have help at certain times when she desperately needed it from her Brother Kin.
I loved reading of Flora Li's attempts to better herself with an education and that helped you understand why she was so determined that her children should all have an excellent education. Flora had to work extremely hard and endure many hardships to get her children into the "right" schools etc.
I also loved that her children had English and Chinese names. I enjoyed reading the meanings of the Chinese names. Flora's own full name was Li, Shing-Ying. Flora's father-in-law got the privilege of giving his Grandchildren their Chinese names, Flora gave them their English names. You will have to read the book for the meanings of the Chinese names, I do not want to give away such a lovely part of the book. I also love the Chines culture of looking after their elders/parents, it is a very respectful culture. The parts of the culture I didn't like was the way Flora had to accept her husbands drinking and paying to dance with girls at night clubs.
Flora's eldest daughter was named Agnes and her Chinese name, Man-Kuk. the Eldest son was Patrick, Kin-Yip. Second Son was Joseph or Tai-Loi. Flora's second daughter was called Veronica or Tai-Ying and she is the person that has put together this beautiful book. Finally Flora's third daughter was Christina or Kum-Lun.
So did I enjoy the book?Yes, I loved reading of Flora's ups and downs along with the ups and downs of china too and how they affected Flora and her life and family. So would I recommend the book? Yes I would, especially to those who love memoirs and those interested in China and it's history too.

Available from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk £1.93 on kindle ( )

Education of Women in the Third World
At least three strands run through this book. One is of course embedded in the book title: The heroine, Flora's, search for home. A second strand is the Chinese Women's lib: how the attitude of women in China (in this case mostly Hong Kong)changed during Flora's life span from bound feet and near-slavery to full emancipation. But I find the third strand, education, particularly striking. It emerges first in the story of young Flora, an impoverished orphan, who against all odds manages to get herself into primary school, then secondary school, and finally into the prestigious Hong Kong Unversity. The education story re-surfaces during Flora's motherhood when she realizes that her children, particularly her oldest son, will have little or no chance of getting good education unless she transplants the family across the four seas in the USA. And that is what she does.
This is a powerful story of a determined woman who through sheer grit and determination rises from poverty and leaves her children with a solid educational foundation on which to build their lives. A must-read for people concerned with the importance of educating girls in the Third World. ( )

I admire Li for publishing what so many families want to do or regret not doing: record the stories of their parents or grandparents. In her prologue, Li invites readers into her home, where she records her mother's tales of growing up and raising a family in Hong Kong and other parts of China, Taiwan, and Thailand in the twentieth century. At first, I feared Li's own voice would cloud that of her mother; I struggled for the first (very) few pages to remember whose story I was reading. After a short while, though, the author faded away and Flora Li's very clear, welcoming voice told a wonderful tale of life.

There is a lot to be learned from Li's book; in addition to learning Chinese customs and catching a glimpse of life in 20th century China, Flora lived through turbulent times and lessons of Chinese history are interspersed throughout. Li's mother was quite the precocious child: smart (a self-proclaimed history buff), alert, and a keen observer of things around her. She then grew into a remarkable woman whose story I am glad to have read.

Journey Across the Four Seas is an epic of one remarkable woman's journey through life. She faces times of heart-breaking poverty and times of prosperity. I was in awe of her fierce loyalty to family and friends. She had a never-ending desire to do the very best for her five children, even if that meant moving away from her husband or traveling to the other side of the globe so that they may succeed. Indeed, Veronica Li herself certainly succeeded in this book; she has wonderfully related a very powerful story. ( )