This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
Born in Taiwan to a Chinese Muslim diplomat’s family, Fawzia Mai Tung spends her childhood learning how often a place can call a child foreign. Rootless Orchid follows her from early schooldays abroad into a life shaped by embassy postings, changing languages, religious duty, family expectation, and the pressure to succeed in classrooms that keep asking her to begin again. Each move forces Tung to understand what others see when they hear her accent, read her name, or test her loyalty to a country she barely knows. As she grows older, education becomes her way to steady herself when home keeps changing. This memoir traces the making of a young woman who must decide where her future belongs before anyone else defines it for her.
Fawzia Mai Tung’s Rootless Orchid is a really beautiful memoir, and the first I've read about a Chinese Muslim daughter, let alone one of diplomats learning what home means across several countries. Tung writes with a clear generosity toward the people around her, whether it's a classmate in Ankara in need of tenderness, or her older sister Saadia in need of money for college. The style is accessible to all readers, and she shows in each experience the reason she shares it to begin with. For example, when a Paris teacher shames her for asking about arithmetic, the moment connects to her later silence in class, making fear visible as a protective habit. I love when Tung shares how she prayed privately while separated from her parents, and her incredible self-advocacy against a medical admissions dean in Jordan. Sweeping in scope and completely immersive, this is a memoir rooted in love, hope, and true belonging. Very highly recommended.
