“Take this, daughter,” her mother said in a trembling voice as she passed over the wedding dress. “May you never live another day hungry, and may your stomach always be too full to swallow down any sorrow. Always remember, you are my beautiful lotus. Any man would be proud to have you as his wife. Please your husband and have healthy babies.”
Mei Lien and her mother are composite characters in this book. I based their experiences on other true stories of mothers and daughters who believed that America would be a land of opportunity. I often think of mothers, and fathers, like Mei Lien's who gave part of their heart in order to let go of their precious daughter. Out of desperation, or out of hope for a better future, these parents had put their faith in something that wasn't real. I wanted to honor these stories in a way that would also respect the descendants of the real people. I hold their memories sacred, and this is why Mei Lien became a composite so that I wouldn't tread on a true person's excruciating experiences.
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