這是一個出生兩週後，母親即因產褥熱去世，被全家視為不祥象徵的中國女兒以畢生精力追求家人認同與接受的故事。

　　嚴君玲出生在 1930 年代的天津，長於上海、香港，身處中西交逢、新舊衝擊的大環境，她的父親在亡妻過世不久隨即再娶一位歐亞混血的美豔女子為妻，並要亡妻留下的五個孩子都叫她「娘」。「娘」的控制欲極高，對自己所生的一子一女卻極為寬縱，卻極力苛薄五個繼子女的生活條件與發展，「五妹」君玲就是在這樣的逆境下成長，所幸在她母親臨終前曾經將她託孤給她的「姑爸爸」，「姑爸爸」也不負所託，提攜五妹，鼓勵五妹，讓她克服艱難，肯定自我，掙脫傳統儒家教條的束縛，找到自己的幸福。
The emotionally wrenching yet ultimately uplifting memoir of a Chinese woman struggling to win the love and acceptance of her family.

Born in 1937 in a port city a thousand miles north of Shanghai, Adeline Yen Mah was the youngest child of an affluent Chinese family who enjoyed rare privileges during a time of political and cultural upheaval. But wealth and position could not shield Adeline from a childhood of appalling emotional abuse at the hands of a cruel and manipulative stepmother. Determined to survive through her enduring faith in family unity, Adeline struggled for independence as she moved from Hong Kong to England and eventually to the United States to become a physician and writer.

A compelling, painful, and ultimately triumphant story of a girl's journey into adulthood, Adeline's story is a testament to the most basic of human needs: acceptance, love, and understanding. With a powerful voice that speaks of the harsh realities of growing up female in a family and society that kept girls in emotional chains, Falling Leaves is a work of heartfelt intimacy and a rare authentic portrait of twentieth-century China.

"Riveting. A marvel of memory. Poignant proof of the human will to endure." --Amy Tan



ADELINE YEN MAH is a physician and writer who lives in Huntington Beach, California, and spends time as well in London and Hong Kong.