My Story

Stories from my childhood

I grew up in Wufeng Ancient Town, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. It's since been renovated into a tourist spot, but in the 1990s, it was old and poor. I spent my first seven years living with my grandparents while my mom worked in the city, a common arrangement for children in China, known as 留守儿童, or "left-behind children." Poverty meant most of my grandparents' and parents' generation never finished school; my own mother only reached third grade before she had to leave to help with the crops and animals. These are some of the stories from that childhood, the ones I still carry with me.

Chapters

• The Bathroom
  Toilet paper, squat toilets, and bath day at my grandparents' house
• Getting Sick
  Tonsillitis, folk remedies, and a toad on my chest