A monologue from a twenty-year-old country girl, who learns to grow wildly through a timely reconciliation with herself. On the land at 36 degrees north, she will write a story of its local character and customs; she will break through frozen earth and bring forth spring wildflowers bristling with thorns. If you are looking for a work of nonfiction that is both healing and empowering, choose this book!
This work is my tribute to the pain of growing up. I set it in my hometown, at 36 degrees north. This mysterious latitude carries countless stories and dreams, and it is also the land of hope and challenge in my heart.
I modeled the protagonist on myself: an ordinary, sensitive girl with an unyielding resilience. As I wrote, I captured her confusion and pain, but also the courage that blossoms in hardship. I hope readers will see themselves in her story and feel both the difficulty and the beauty of growing up.
Growing up is never a smooth journey. It is full of setbacks and hardships. But it is these experiences that shape us into the unique people we are.
I hope The Rain at Mao Hour, 36 Degrees North can be a field of wheat, offering a little corner to those who feel lost on their journey to adulthood. It may not have a gripping plot, but it holds the most sincere emotions and the most resilient strength. If this book can bring you a little warmth in the middle of the night, help you find a little courage in a low moment, or offer you a little redemption when you are on the verge of falling apart, that would be my greatest happiness. This is a seed I have planted with words. May it bloom into the wildest flower in your heart.
