My American Sister

A story of a family paying the price of an unapproved birth under China's One-Child Policy.

What price does a family pay for an unapproved birth?

Li Fu and Mei, farmers from a far-flung province seeking a livelihood in the capital, Beijing, flout the country's One-Child Policy by giving birth to a second daughter, Ying. Unable to pay the hefty penalty, their baby is forcefully taken by corrupted officials and sold to an orphanage, and is eventually put up for adoption. Stricken by grief, the family falls apart. Li, obsessed with finding his missing daughter, leads a dysfunctional and chaotic life with his eldest daughter Yan after his wife walks out of the family. Seventeen years pass before he eventually locates Ying in San Francisco.

However, his dream of a reunited family is quickly crushed when Ying, now an all-American girl, cannot accept her biological family's un-American way of life. Intolerant of their behaviour and illegal immigrant status, Ying does the unthinkable—calling the immigration department to deport her family back to China.

Overcome with guilt and remorse, Ying decides to go to China to face her father and tell him the truth about their arrest and deportation.

Told from the perspectives of the two sisters, this novel reveals the dark side of cross-cultural adoption and love between father and daughter. The story is inspired by actual accounts of missing children in China, some of whom were abducted by corrupted officials for profiteering.

My American Sister by Judy Tham explores these themes with emotional depth and insight.