Our Families - Why do we love these people? This question was posed by Po Bronson in his new book "Why do I love these people?" when he embarked on his research project that lasted 3 years.
I first read Bronson's other book "What should I do with my life" some 1-2 years back, but this one really tops it off and continues on with his great storytelling of ordinary people and their lives. His style of writing on issues that are prevalent in contemporary society really highlights his gift of storytelling.
He does not pretend to offer solutions to the questions he has posed on the covers of his books, but rather he offers real-life personal accounts of the trials, tribulations and hardships that ordinary Americans endure in search of the answers.
In "Why do I love these people?", I find the first chapter of James Louie and his daughter Jennifer most touching. It had all the elements of a great story, Father leaves country in search of a better life.... neglects his daughter during her childhood years.... daughter becomes rebellious as a young adult but finally reconcilling her differences with the father only after returning to their home country.
What struck me as most touching was actually the narrative of James going back to hometown village, finding his house totally intact; well-protected by his neighbours in all years he had left.
And the moment, he entered his house, James went right to his mother's altar to bow three times. When Jennifer asks, how old was his grandmother when she died; James replied that she had died when she was around Jennifer's age and that she was heart-broken due to the unfaithfulness of her husband. James went on to say that he was only one-year old then and that he never knew his mother.
In that moment, Jennifer finally saw the inner self of her father. Never she had ever thought this man, her father would have an emotional life because she had not communicated and bonded with him since the day she was born.
The finale happens when James gives Jennifer a bracelet that belonged to his mother's mother that he had kept hidden in a worm hole behind a wooden panel for the past seventeen years.
The incredible human desire to improve one's lot is definitely present in all of us. However, we must not forget that our families play an important part of the equation, because if without them, life would not be as meaningful. It took James nearly seventeen years to get back his daughter, but I can understand the kind of self-sacrifice that he had made as a new immigrant in a foreign country.
James was in essence the conservative Chinese father that followed the Confucian traditions of fillial piety and hardwork. But along the way, he made some tradeoffs which evidently affected his relationship with his children.
In life events, there seems to be so many twists and turns, but somehow things will always return full circle and achieve its natural balance.
The other eighteen stories contained within the book had its own endings which were not as touching (or good) as this first chapter, but I feed that it was a good read for all to reflect on themselves and about their own families.
I first read Bronson's other book "What should I do with my life" some 1-2 years back, but this one really tops it off and continues on with his great storytelling of ordinary people and their lives. His style of writing on issues that are prevalent in contemporary society really highlights his gift of storytelling.
He does not pretend to offer solutions to the questions he has posed on the covers of his books, but rather he offers real-life personal accounts of the trials, tribulations and hardships that ordinary Americans endure in search of the answers.
In "Why do I love these people?", I find the first chapter of James Louie and his daughter Jennifer most touching. It had all the elements of a great story, Father leaves country in search of a better life.... neglects his daughter during her childhood years.... daughter becomes rebellious as a young adult but finally reconcilling her differences with the father only after returning to their home country.
What struck me as most touching was actually the narrative of James going back to hometown village, finding his house totally intact; well-protected by his neighbours in all years he had left.
And the moment, he entered his house, James went right to his mother's altar to bow three times. When Jennifer asks, how old was his grandmother when she died; James replied that she had died when she was around Jennifer's age and that she was heart-broken due to the unfaithfulness of her husband. James went on to say that he was only one-year old then and that he never knew his mother.
In that moment, Jennifer finally saw the inner self of her father. Never she had ever thought this man, her father would have an emotional life because she had not communicated and bonded with him since the day she was born.
The finale happens when James gives Jennifer a bracelet that belonged to his mother's mother that he had kept hidden in a worm hole behind a wooden panel for the past seventeen years.
The incredible human desire to improve one's lot is definitely present in all of us. However, we must not forget that our families play an important part of the equation, because if without them, life would not be as meaningful. It took James nearly seventeen years to get back his daughter, but I can understand the kind of self-sacrifice that he had made as a new immigrant in a foreign country.
James was in essence the conservative Chinese father that followed the Confucian traditions of fillial piety and hardwork. But along the way, he made some tradeoffs which evidently affected his relationship with his children.
In life events, there seems to be so many twists and turns, but somehow things will always return full circle and achieve its natural balance.
The other eighteen stories contained within the book had its own endings which were not as touching (or good) as this first chapter, but I feed that it was a good read for all to reflect on themselves and about their own families.
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