Spring Flower is an epic story of one family’s survival in China in the 1950s, 60s and 70s when the country lurched from the economic upheaval of the Great Leap Forward only to end up tearing itself apart during the Culture Revolution. Dr. Jean Tren-Hwa Perkins gives us a deeply moving memoir of what it was like to be a physician, a wife, and a mother (of a child with cerebral palsy) during those tumultuous years. Her life is an outstanding portrait of resilience, hope and love that shines like a lamp through some of the most dim and brutal periods of modern Chinese history.
Author of House of Daughters
Yangtze River By The Hudson Bay
Spring Flower: Facing the Red Storm l951-l970 is the second book in a unique trilogy by Jean Tren-Hwa Perkins, MD, edited by her son Richard Perkins Hsung. With her remarkable recall and skill as a writer, the author portrays her life in China with vivid descriptions that transport the reader into the immediacy of the scenes: how she and her family survived floods, wars, famines, and the infamous, chaotic period of the Cultural Revolution – the focus of this volume. As a doctor, both she and her agronomist husband were targeted by the Red Guards; she was sent to a rural reeducation program whereas he survived years in a hard labor camp.
Amidst a life of ceaseless hardship, Dr. Perkins raised two children, one handicapped, while continuing to practice ophthalmology against all odds. Spring Flower is an extraordinary book, a powerful narrative about an exceptional life. Deeply human and heart-rending, the book is above all a testament to courage – an inspiring story that deserves wide recognition.
Author of Aging with Wisdom: Reflections, Stories, & Teachings
AndTen Thousand Joys & Ten Thousand Sorrows: A Couple’s Journey Through Alzheimer’s