{"product_id":"vessel-a-memoir-chongda-cai","title":"Vessel: A Memoir;  Chongda Cai","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn unprecedented and heartfelt memoir that illuminates the lives of rural Chinese workers, offering a portrait of generational strife, family, love, and loss that crosses cultures and time.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCai Chongda spent his childhood in a rural fishing village in Fujian province. When his father—a former communist gang leader turned gas station owner—has a stroke that partially paralyzes him, his responsibilities fall to Cai, his only son. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAssuming his new role as head of the family, Cai toils alongside his mother and older sister to pay the medical bills that have become a part of a rapidly changing Chinese society. As Cai works his way through university and moves to Beijing, eventually becoming a director of GQ China, he finds his life increasingly at odds with the family he supports but has left behind.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLike \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Glass Castle\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eHillbilly Elegy, Vessel\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e neither romanticizes nor condemns the people and circumstances that shaped a young man’s life, but instead offers a way forward, revealing how tradition can enrich modern life. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDecember 1, 2014\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"FREEAIR Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44885647458626,"sku":"","price":8.55,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/8735\/3154\/products\/vessel.jpg?v=1680543900","url":"https:\/\/shop.freeairbooks.com\/products\/vessel-a-memoir-chongda-cai","provider":"FREEAIR Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}