{"product_id":"where-the-past-begins-a-writers-memoir-9780062319296","title":"Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFROM \u003cem\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/em\u003e BESTSELLING AUTHOR AMY TAN, A MEMOIR ON HER LIFE AS A WRITER, HER CHILDHOOD, AND THE SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FICTION AND EMOTIONAL MEMORY\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eWhere the Past Begins, \u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eThe Joy Luck Club\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Valley of Amazement\u003c\/em\u003e Amy Tan is at her most intimate in revealing the truths and inspirations that underlie her extraordinary fiction. By delving into vivid memories of her traumatic childhood, confessions of self-doubt in her journals, and heartbreaking letters to and from her mother, she gives evidence to all that made it both unlikely and inevitable that she would become a writer. Through spontaneous storytelling, she shows how a fluid fictional state of mind unleashed near-forgotten memories that became the emotional nucleus of her novels. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTan explores shocking truths uncovered by family memorabilia--the real reason behind an IQ test she took at age six, why her parents lied about their education, mysteries surrounding her maternal grandmother--and, for the first time publicly, writes about her complex relationship with her father, who died when she was fifteen. Supplied with candor and characteristic humor, \u003cem\u003eWhere the Past Begins\u003c\/em\u003e takes readers into the idiosyncratic workings of her writer's mind, a journey that explores memory, imagination, and truth, with fiction serving as both her divining rod and link to meaning. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTan, Amy:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eAmy Tan is the author of \u003cem\u003eThe Joy Luck Club\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Kitchen God's Wife\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Hundred Secret Senses\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Bonesetter's Daughter\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSaving Fish from Drowning\u003c\/em\u003e, and two children's books, \u003cem\u003eThe Moon Lady\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Chinese Siamese Cat\u003c\/em\u003e, which was adapted into a PBS television series. Tan was also a coproducer and coscreenwriter of the film version of \u003cem\u003eThe Joy Luck Club\u003c\/em\u003e. Her essays and stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, and her work has been translated into thirty-five languages. She lives with her husband in San Francisco and New York.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ecco Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51384135188754,"sku":"9780062319296","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_834dfe5c-3c0f-427c-972d-5b00b02f0068.jpg?v=1750164309","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/where-the-past-begins-a-writers-memoir-9780062319296","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}