Memoir of a Journey from Shanghai to the US, with Abby Jiang

Memoir of a Journey from Shanghai to the US, with Abby Jiang

Abby’s life is divided into 2 very different chapters: growing up in China and life in the US. Part 1 of her memorable memoir, The Bumpy Road, starts in Shanghai when Abby (then callerichd (文化大革命) was a 12-year-old “princess” from an affluent family. She saw her life suddenly changed forever by a turbulent revolution when the government raided her family’s home. Her father became a “bloodsucker,” and her family struggled to survive. Her memoir paints a picture of her life in Shanghai 1954-87, when China was closed to the rest of the world. Abby was sent to a factory and the countryside to learn from workers and peasants as part of the movement's policies. They all struggled through the confusion of the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the strange years that followed. Abby became a librarian, then chief librarian, at a Shanghai research institute. Part 2 focuses on her experiences in the US. How she handled her huge East vs. West immigration shocks and why she decided to stay and the new professions she created for herself as her family settled in New Jersey.  She discusses how she raised a Princeton graduate child in a totally unfamiliar territory. It’s a fascinating story about dealing with culture shock on 2 continents. Abby has worked at the library of the Port Authority of NY and NJ, and other libraries.