AWO’s senior editor Tania McCartney has been a busy bee, releasing two books in the past two months. Her latest release – Beijing Tai Tai: Life, laughter and motherhood in China’s capital – has been stacked on the shelves just in time for Mother’s Day and is at once both an hilarious and moving account of her time in China with her young family.
‘I feel like everyone should know about Beijing Tai Tai . . . it’s the Eat Pray Love for mothers . . .” – author Dee White
This competition is now closed. Winners will be notified shortly.
Intensely personal, at times a little controversial, Beijing Tai Tai is a rollercoaster ride of honesty and openness as a wife (tai tai) and mother juggles suburban family life in urban Beijing. Presented in a series of love/hate column-like snippets – on topics ranging from the consumption of bull testicles to the life-altering experience of walking the Great Wall – it exposes expatriate life in a country on the brink of great change.
From tragic hair moments and bustling silk markets to China’s quest to stay true to its ancient origins, Beijing Tai Tai is a book for anyone interested in this diverse and culturally rich country. It’s for anyone from anywhere who knows what it’s like to fall in love, explore new worlds and live with challenges. It’s about life in a city full of soaring highs and disconsolate lows – but never anything less than remarkable.
This book rewrites the myth of the full-time expat mother. - Lee Mack, Managing Editor, City Weekend Beijing
Both funny and insightful, McCartney’s utterly honest account is a must-read for anyone with an interest in China, in refreshingly frank memoir or in the subject of motherhood – whichever country you choose to learn it in. - Jenny Niven, Associate Director, The Wheeler Centre
In Beijing Tai Tai, McCartney skilfully blends amusing anecdotes, personal family moments and the joys and frustrations of parenthood with glimpses of Beijing and China as seen through the eyes of an intelligent and insightful, well-travelled observer – Susan Whelan, World Literatures Feature Writer, Suite 101
To win a copy of Beijing Tai Tai, all you need do is leave a comment below. Just tell us – in 25 words or less – what about motherhood makes you laugh?
Beijing Tai Tai: Life, laughter and motherhood in China’s capital is published by Exisle Publishing, $24.99RRP, ISBN 9781921966156. Visit www.beijingtaitai.com to learn more about the book, see blog entries and photos, as well as a video of Tania talking about her inspiration behind the book.
Competition Guidelines
Competition runs from 5am Saturday 14 April to Saturday 28 April at 9pm AEDST, and is open to Australian residents aged 18 and over. Winners will be notified by email within 7 days of end of competition. Full address and contact details must be provided for eligibility. This is a game of skill, not chance. Judge’s decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
