Behind the lives of Shanghai's expat wives
- Source: Global Times
- [08:40 November 22 2010]
- Comments
Lisa Blunt Rochester (L), Ruth Kuguru (C) and Alejandra Guzm n (R).
By Jiang Yuxia
Outlining the stories of 34 women from 18 countries with diverse backgrounds, ages and situations, Thrive is a work from three "trailing spouses" who came to Shanghai with their partners and found their own successes.
The book is the result of two years' worth of work by Ruth Kuguru (Kenya), Lisa Blunt Rochester (US) and Alejandra Guzm n (Mexico).
"Ale has ideas; Ruth always has this vision of doing cross-culture, continent and things to bridge culture gaps while I have dreams," said coauthor Blunt Rochester at a book talk in Beijing Saturday.
Sharing their common interest in women who have made new lives for themselves in Shanghai, the three teamed up to find resources, interview women and rewrite their stories in the book.
With 34 chapters and rich profile stories, Thrive illustrates various challenges that the expat wives faced in Shanghai, their moments of being alone and their determination to realize their goals and become what they are Monday.
In the book, women open up and talk about things that they rarely mentioned to anyone before. Some have problems having children, others lose their identities and careers and some deal with the loss of loved ones.
"Balancing family, career, friendship and creativity is a big challenge for women in today's high-speed world no matter where they are," the authors write in the book.
"We wanted to shine a light on women from various backgrounds which any woman could in some way relate to. From the executive balancing work with her family and personal life to the mom who chooses to work from home, Thrive celebrates us in all of our diversity, multiple roles and rich potential," the introduction reads.
Each woman in Thrive is given a theme, summarizing the best qualities that enable them to stand out in their new environment: immersion, honesty, trust, time and faith, are just a few.
"What makes someone thrive in their life is individual, you can't just have one thing. For one person it was about faith, for another person it was about family, for another person it was about working," coauthor Kuguru explained.
At the end of each chapter the authors pose a question to provoke readers to reflect for a moment on their own lives, in the hopes of initiating them to take action.
"We want people to read the story not just saying 'wow it's great story,' but also thinking for themselves about some of the questions," Blunt Rochester said.
