Really Enough

This astonishing, intimate memoir by Margaret Zhao with Kathleen Martens charts one young woman's daunting struggle for survival, freedom and forbidden love while exposing the shocking lives of the Enemies of the State under the tumultuous rule of Chairman Mao. Set against the backdrop of a China in chaos, Really Enough is a relatable and touching celebration of rising up against all odds. Born into a disenfranchised family in rural China in the 1950s and branded an Enemy of the State, Margaret Zhao quickly learned her abject lot in life. With Chairman Mao Zedong's new Communist Party policies-virtually hidden from the world's eyes- innocent, affluent families like the Zhaos were punished as evil capitalists and remnants of the feudal past. Empowered by her determined mother in a world of burning books, this passionate daughter of a long line of ancient scholars secretly set out to carry on her illustrious family legacy. Clinging to the power of humor in humorless times when the pursuit of learning from the past was a crime against the state, Margaret used her wits to capture unimaginable dreams. And when a forbidden love with a "foreign devil" raised the stakes even further, what emerges is a testament to the human imperative to be free, and to the redemptive, rallying strength of women and the oppressed everywhere. Readers interested in true-life accounts of survival, freedom, strong mothers, immigrants rising, and interracial romance will be enthralled by this intimate story of determination and hope. With heart, humor, conviction, and the uplifting power of learning, her personal triumph will embolden you. Margaret's indomitable spirit is contagious-you will laugh, you will cry, you will be inspired. Really Enough will write itself into your heart.