Redefining Home
Squatty Potties, Split Pants, and Other Things that Divide my World
I've had been wanting to write for a long time, but all of my brain cells were being used birthing children and staying awake past 8 pm. Now that I have packed away the diaper bags and sleep in one continuous block of time, I decided to write. Here's the summary on the back of the book:
My first attempt at speaking Chinese resulted in my telling a street vendor that I wanted to buy a daughter instead of milk. It was at that point that any semblance of self-respect was swept into the well-filled gutters of my new culture. Redefining Home follows our struggle as comfortable Americans moving into the chaotic streets of urban China. From the early morning cadence of funeral drums to being accosted by an 80-year old man armed with a toothless grin, China has become home in many ways. As outsiders, we get to take in the culture with the naivety of a child while trying to avoid the cynicism of a middle-aged bowler. After several years, we returned to the States for a brief time only to discover that it no longer felt like home. Having conversations about intestinal parasites or my fascination with American gas stations was not a great way to fit back into the lives of our friends. We quickly realized that we had changed...as had the people around us. Flying across the ocean to return home to China reminded us that it's the space in between the two cultures that defines our family.
The book chronicles how as a family we find ourselves "Redefining Home," and as followers of Christ, how we have become strangers and aliens in this world. Both take a re-calibration of our identity.
Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting a few short excerpts from the book and a few giveaways here and there. So check back and I'll promise not to talk about my children's
