The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings (or Memories of a Writing Life)

In her first book of nonfiction, bestselling novelist Amy Tan shares her personal philosophy of fate. Amy Tan was born into a family that believed in fate. In The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings, she explores this legacy, as well as American circumstances, and finds ways to honor the past while creating her own brand of destiny. She discovers answers in everyday actions and attitudes-from writing stories, decorating her house with charms, learning to ski, and living with squirrels, to dealing with three members of her family afflicted with brain disease, surviving natural disasters, and shaking off both family curses and the expectations that she should become a doctor and a concert pianist. With the same spirit, humor, and magic that characterize her beloved novels, Amy Tan presents a refreshing antidote to the world-weariness and uncertainties we face today, contemplating how things happen-in her own life and beyond-but always returning to the question of fate and its opposites: the choices, charms, influences, attitudes, and lucky accidents that shape us all. CONTENTS......Page 12 A NOTE TO THE READER......Page 18 FATE AND FAITH......Page 22 the cliffsnotes version of my life......Page 24 how we knew......Page 56 a question of fate......Page 58 faith......Page 78 CHANGING THE PAST......Page 84 last week......Page 86 my grandmother's choice......Page 116 thinly disguised memoir......Page 122 persona errata......Page 130 scent......Page 138 AMERICAN CIRCUMSTANCES AND CHINESE CHARACTER......Page 140 fish cheeks......Page 142 dangerous advice......Page 145 midlife confidential......Page 152 arrival banquet......Page 171 joy luck and hollywood......Page 193 STRONG WINDS, STRONG INFLUENCES......Page 222 what she meant......Page 224 confessions......Page 229 pretty beyond belief......Page 232 the most hateful words......Page 235 my love affair with vladimir nabokov......Page 238 LUCK CHANCE, AND A CHARMED LIFE......Page 246 inferior decorating......Page 248 room with a view, new kitchen, and ghosts......Page 252 retreat to reality......Page 256 my hair, my face, my nails......Page 262 the ghosts of my imagination......Page 267 A CHOICE OF WORDS......Page 284 what the library means to me......Page 286 mother tongue......Page 288 the language of discretion......Page 297 five writing tips......Page 308 required reading and other dangerous subjects......Page 316 angst and the second book......Page 341 the best stories......Page 351 HOPE......Page 372 what i would remember......Page 374 to complain is american......Page 377 the opposite of fate......Page 384 Delve into the stories from Amy Tan's life that inspired bestselling novels like The Joy Luck Club and The Valley of Amazement and the new memoir, Where the Past Begins Amy Tan has touched millions of readers with haunting and sympathetic novels of cultural complexity and profound empathy. With the same spirit and humor that characterize her acclaimed novels, she now shares her insight into her own life and how she escaped the curses of her past to make a future of her own. She takes us on a journey from her childhood of tragedy and comedy to the present day and her arrival as one of the world's best-loved novelists. Whether recalling arguments with her mother in suburban California or introducing us to the ghosts that inhabit her computer, The Opposite of Fate offers vivid portraits of choices, attitudes, charms, and luck in action--a refreshing antidote to the world-weariness and uncertainties we all face today. "Amy Tan has touched millions of readers with haunting and sympathetic novels of cultural complexity and profound empathy. With the same spirit and humor that characterize her acclaimed novels, she now shares her insight into her own life and how she escaped the curses of her past to make a future of her own. She takes us on a journey from her childhood of tragedy and comedy to the present day and her arrival as one of the world's best-loved novelists. Whether recalling arguments with her mother in suburban California or introducing us to the ghosts that inhabit her computer, The Opposite of Fate offers vivid portraits of choices, attitudes, charms, and luck in action-a refreshing antidote to the world-weariness and uncertainties we all face today."--Résumé de l'éditeur Born into a family who believed in fate, Amy Tan has always looked for alternative ways to make sense of the world. And now, in The Opposite of Fate, her first book of non-fiction she shares her thoughts on how she escaped the expectations and curses of her past, and created her own destiny. The Author Reflects On Her Family's Chinese American Legacy, Her Experiences As A Writer, Her Survival Of Natural Disasters, And Her Struggle To Manage Three Family Members Afflicted With Brain Disease. Soon after my first book was published, I found myself often confronted with the subject of my mortality. Autobiografisch relaas van de Chinees-Amerikaanse schrijfster (1952- ) over haar schrijverschap.