Aloha, readers! I am coming to you this week from the beautiful island of Maui. You know I don’t leave home without a stack of books, and while my kids are boogie boarding until they can barely move, I am stationed in my beach chair with a great story and a cold drink.
“Lady Tan’s Circle of Women” by Lisa See is a beautifully written book based on the true story of a woman physician from 15th century China. Tan Yunxian was born into an elite family, but her early life was haunted by death, loss, and separation. When she was eight, she was sent to live with her grandparents. Yunxian’s grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine. From a young age, Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses alongside a young midwife-in-training named Meiling. The two girls grow close during their studies despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood and the fact that midwives come in frequent contact with it.
They vow to be forever friends, and they share both joys and struggles over the years. “No mud, no lotus,” they tell themselves. From adversity, beauty can bloom. When Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from practicing medicine. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife, embroider bound-foot slippers, pluck instruments, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound. How might a woman like Yunxian break free of these traditions, go on to treat women and girls from every level of society, and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later? How might the power of friendship support or complicate these efforts?
“Lady Tan’s Circle of Women” is a beautiful story of women helping other women. The bond between Yunxian and Meiling is a perfect example of how important other women are in our lives and just how deep our relationships with our friends can be. I found the parts of the book surrounding foot-binding both gruesome and fascinating, and yet another reminder that women in history have continuously been dealt a bad hand, as well as the lengths women go to for various standards of beauty.
That’s it for this week. Now it is time to go soak up enough sun to last me the rest of winter. Come follow me on Instagram @allison.the.reader for more about what I am reading, as well as a dose of secondhand sunshine from The Aloha State.
Comment
Comments