Winner of the 2021 Michael Crouch Award, debut category of the
National Biography Award: From famine to freedom, how a young boy
fled Chairman Mao's China to a new life in Australia Andrew Kwong
was only seven when he witnessed his first execution. The grim
scene left him sleepless, anxious and doubtful about his commitment
as a revolutionary in Mao's New China. Yet he knew if he devoted
himself to the Party and its Chairman he would be saved. That's
what his teacher told him. Months later, it was his own father on
trial. This time the sentence was banishment to a re-education
camp, not death. It left the family tainted, despised, and with few
means of survival during the terrible years of persecution and
famine known as the Great Leap Forward. Even after his father
returned, things remained desperate. Escape seemed the only
solution, and it would be twelve-year-old Andrew who undertook the
perilous journey first. This is the poignant, resonant story of a
young boy's awakening - to survival, education, fulfilment, and
eventually to a new life of freedom. PRAISE 'An incredibly powerful
book' Benjamin Law '[A] moving family saga, shot through with
yearning and hard-won joy' Fiona Capp, Sydney Morning Herald 'This
book will live on in your heart long after you've read the last
page' Vicki Laveau-Harvie, author of The Erratics 'Heart-breaking,
honest, personal, Andrew Kwong's moving journey from oppression to
freedom is inspiring' Susanne Gervay, OAM, author 'A work of
startling clarity ... reminiscent of Angela's Ashes' South China
Morning Post Magazine 'Deeply moving ... The unique perspective of
a child ... places One Bright Moon in the vicinity of Night, Elie
Wiesel's pathbreaking memoir of his early life prior to and of his
time in German concentration camps' Meenakshi Bharat, IIC Quarterly
'A few pages into this compelling memoir proves it was written by a
master storyteller' Sharon Rundle, Australian Book Review 'A
profoundly moving and spellbinding story that perfectly illuminates
the terror of the times and the irrepressible yearning for
something better' Carol Major, author and writing mentor 'One
Bright Moon is extraordinary writing that encapsulates long-term
hunger as a background feature of daily life in Mao's New China. In
the foreground are images of adults and children populating the
world of the pre-teenage boy with a photographic memory who would
later write of them. The book is rich archival material for the
study of China's social history' Mabel Lee, PhD FAHA, writer and
translator 'Reading this memoir is a healing experience' Devika
Brendon, author and editor
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