{"product_id":"monsoon-mansion-a-memoir-9781542046145","title":"Monsoon Mansion: A Memoir","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTold with a lyrical, almost-dreamlike voice as intoxicating as the moonflowers and orchids that inhabit this world, \u003ci\u003eMonsoon Mansion\u003c\/i\u003e is a harrowing yet triumphant coming-of-age memoir exploring the dark, troubled waters of a family's rise and fall from grace in the Philippines. It would take a young warrior to survive it.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCinelle Barnes was barely three years old when her family moved into Mansion Royale, a stately ten-bedroom home in the Philippines. Filled with her mother's opulent social aspirations and the gloriously excessive evidence of her father's self-made success, it was a girl's storybook playland. But when a monsoon hits, her father leaves, and her mother's terrible lover takes the reins, Cinelle's fantastical childhood turns toward tyranny she could never have imagined. Formerly a home worthy of magazines and lavish parties, Mansion Royale becomes a dangerous shell of the splendid palace it had once been.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this remarkable ode to survival, Cinelle creates something magical out of her truth--underscored by her complicated relationship with her mother. Through a tangle of tragedy and betrayal emerges a revelatory journey of perseverance and strength, of grit and beauty, and of coming to terms with the price of family--and what it takes to grow up.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBarnes, Cinelle:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Cinelle Barnes is an essayist, memoirist, educator, and candlemaker with a BA in media studies in journalism from Hunter College and a master of fine arts in creative writing from Converse College. Books have been the one constant in her life--through her tumultuous childhood in the Philippines, her years living as an undocumented immigrant in New York City, her time as a new bride living in the American South, and as she completed her MFA program and began writing about her secrets. She lives between two states with her husband and daughter: New York, where she is always inspired to write, and South Carolina, where she can be close to the ocean. Find her online at www.cinellebarnes.com, and follow her on Instagram @cinellebarnesbooks.","brand":"Little a","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50355321667858,"sku":"9781542046145","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b0d7678a-ff79-49c6-a3e7-420b9da77103.jpg?v=1728297969","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/monsoon-mansion-a-memoir-9781542046145","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}