A dedicated teacher shares her success story with Sheila, an autistic child abandoned by her mother and abused by an alcoholic father, who was declared a hopeless case in spite of her genius intellect. Reissue.

Finally, a beginning . . . The time had finally come. The time I had been waiting for through all these long months that I knew sooner or later had to occur. Now it was here. She had surprised me so much by actually crying that for a moment I did nothing but look at her. Then I gathered her into my arms, hugging her tightly. She clutched onto my shirt so that I could feel the dull pain of her fingers digging into my skin. She cried and cried and cried. I held her and rocked the chair back and on its rear legs, feeling my arms and chest get damp from the tears and her hot breath and the smallness of the room.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist offers an intimate investigation of China’s one-child policy and its consequences for families and the nation at large. For over three decades, China exercised unprecedented control over the reproductive habits of its billion citizens. Now, with its economy faltering just as it seemed poised to become the largest in the world, the Chinese government has brought an end to its one-child policy. It may once have seemed a shortcut to riches, but it has had a profound effect on society in modern China. Combining personal portraits of families affected by the policy with a nuanced account of China’s descent towards economic and societal turmoil, Mei Fong reveals the true cost of this controversial policy. Drawing on eight years of research, Fong reveals a dystopian legacy of second children refused documentation by the state; only children supporting their parents and grandparents; and villages filled with ineligible bachelors. A “vivid and thoroughly researched” piece of on-the-ground journalism, One Child humanizes the policy that defined China and warns that the ill-effects of its legacy will be felt across the globe (The Guardian, UK).

The problem -- The right to a family -- The right to control your body -- Sanctions -- The future -- Unexpected consequences -- When?

Publisher Description

Population politics are a major issue in China. Susan Greenhaigh explores the origins and development of the one-child policy from the late 1970s to the present day, showing how sociopolitical life in China has been subject to scientization and statisticalization.

Champnella pens the inspiring true story of a four-year-old Chinese orphan who convinces her adoptive American family to return to China and rescue her "baby"--a little boy who had been under her charge at the orphanage.