{"product_id":"9781935125839","title":"Chopstix, Healing My Heart In The Heart Of China","description":"Chopstix: Healing My Heart in the Heart of China is the true story of a modern woman's recovery after having become lost and neglected in the Great American dream. This baby boomer finds her true identity after coming full circle, reinventing herself through courage and curiosity, and discovering that, yes, there is life after divorce. - - Running as far and as fast as she can to escape the pain and devastation of a bitter divorce (after 25 years of marriage), Joan Smith, a typical mom from a farming community in Michigan, finds herself at the gates of an unknown university in the heart of Mainland China. She travels to the other side of the world after accepting a job she found posted on Craigslist - Teach English in China. Going where she knows no one, to a world that held no memories, no friendly faces and no familiar places that would remind her of the fairy tail life she once lived, she hopes to disappear forever among 1.4 billion people. - - Instead she finds that she has landed in a most unusual place. From the moment she sets foot on land and catches her first glimpse of China and SIAS International University, she knows that she is in for the most extraordinary experience of her life. \"This is not even close to anything I expected!\" she thinks bewilderedly. Before long she has a new home and new name...JoAn. - - A series of unexpected and valuable life lessons begins to unfold as she begins her life on campus just outside the rural town of XinZheng. Tall, slim and blonde, JoAn stands out among the locals, many of whom had never seen a Westerner. Little by little, she settles into the role of teacher and slowly becomes acquainted with her many students and the cultural differences that she finds, at times, unbearable. Still overwhelmed with the wounds of the past, she gradually adjusts to her new home and befriends her new colleagues-Bruce, a sophisticated but eccentric L.A. movie critic; Jacqueline, the fiery redhead from upstate New York; Alex, the strong-willed Texan; Robert, the handsome auto executive living in Shanghai; and, of course, the two China dolls, Kitty and Allie, who became JoAn's surrogate daughters. - - The heartache and anger that pushed JoAn over the edge and into a desperate escape to a foreign world continues to surface and dissipate as each day brings into her experience a new healing message, a new person and a new place. On the road to self-discovery, she learns what is most important in life and who she really is. The struggles and wondrous experience of living one day at a time in an unpredictable world leads to renewed confidence, love and sense of adventure.","brand":"Robertson Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47063552065776,"sku":"9781935125839","price":26.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781935125839_p0.jpg?v=1763783501","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781935125839","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}