Among western writings and historical accounts of World War II, very few recount first-hand experiences from the perspective of civilian refugees at the Pacific front. Gwok Choy: A Family Memoir is a rare exception in that it is an autobiography of an American-Chinese boy growing up in China, repatriated as a teenager in the United States, then serving as an enlisted man during the Korean War. Told using blended first-person and third-person narrations, this eye-opening biography is a life lived in two worlds; at its heart is an unforgettable journey--literally a trek--through several...

Places is about how physical environments are cytoplasms for personal growth and gender exploration. Part 1, based upon a myriad of personal experiences, contains essays about the solitary female just as she might be: sportswoman, social commentator, explorer, career advocate, dreamer, and passionate lover. Part 2 builds upon the themes of identity and love through poetry and literary essays with subthemes of location and generativity.

Whether it is of life lived beyond the pale ("The Oak Tree at Courthouse Park"), a twisted-up childhood ("A Pair of China Dolls"), or workplace victimization ("An Autumn's Tale"), manifest schism between shifting norms and identity is central to this short fiction collection. This feminist author narrates with precision and verve the personal sacrifices paid surviving within overly rigid hierarchies. Estrangement and abuse doubles over itself ("Clunker's Tale"), becomes a misshapen scarp, and is painfully self-evident in the romantic finale, the novella, Tales from the Old Guide. This is a...