Genuinely, I cannot find the words to properly express the beauty of this book. Beauty is all I can think to say but it seems to small a word to encompass everything offered in this work. On the one hand, you have a wonderfully written saga of a family's history, written by a member of that family as a way to process her grief. That in and of itself makes this a worthwhile piece. But then she goes a step further and brings her archeological knowledge into it as well. She weaves the history and context of China, its people, and their immigration to America into her family's story, giving it even more depth and dimension, not just telling us who these people were but WHY. And she incorporates the tradition of the Chinese zodiac as well as beautiful art and poetry to complete the portrait she is painting. It's like nothing I have read before and I am more eager than I can express to dive deeper into it and be simultaneously moved and educated. We need more memoirs like this one.