Unbound Spirit: Letters of Flora Belle Jan

This unusual letter collection is the record of a lifelong friendship between two American women, one of whom was second generation Chinese. This was not of primary concern to either of them, but Flora Belle Jan, the author of the letters, does occasionally mention the prejudice she encountered. Much more, this is a chronicle of the life of a strong, ambitious woman, who enjoyed the excitement of the twenties and discovered how completely American she was when she and her husband moved to China in 1932. Her letters of life there through the war are a wonderful window on day to day survival under Japanese occupation. Flora's determination to overcome racial and gender discrimination as well as marriage to a man who wanted a "traditional" wife, is inspirational. Her outspoken opinions and confidences are just plain fun. It is to the credit of her daughter, one of the editors, that racier passages were not censored. At her untimely death in 1949, Flora left a solid body of newspaper work and magazine articles. This edition of her letters should bring them to greater notice. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)