Confucius Never Said

By: Helen Raleigh

Narrated by: Helen Raleigh

This book is a four-generation family journey from repression and poverty in China to freedom and prosperity in the United States. Their lives overlap with many significant historical events taking place in China, such as the founding of Communist China in 1949, the Great Chinese Famine from 1958-1960, the Cultural Revolution from 1966-1976 and the Economic Reform starting from 1980. The author recounts the enormous suffering her family had to endure under Communist China's radical social experiment. Her great-grandfather was denounced by the Chinese Communist Party and his neighbors simply because he owned land. He died in poverty, and his dying wish was never granted. Her grandfather loaned his fishing boat to the Communist Party, and ended up losing his independence and becoming a janitor. Her father escaped his village to get educated and thus survived the Great Famine. He became highly educated, but never joined the Communist Party, and was sent to a re-education labor camp because of it. The author herself grew up in China and immigrated to the United States as a young adult. She sought freedom and the American Dream, and found both. This book is about freedom - and about what happens when we let people take our freedom away.

©2014 Helen Raleigh (P)2016 Helen Raleigh

lessons from the past

this should be required reading for every high school student in the west. thank you Helen for your insight.

the author did a great job.

the book is very enlightening. everyone shouldered it. those who do not know history are bound to repeat it.

A life-changing biography for every American

This book comes right on the heels of Heavenly Man by Brother Yun, as one of my favorite recent books to listen to. What an amazing story from the early days of her life and communist China, and the wonderful truths of her situation she was willing to share.

Wake up America

Loved it
Confucius never read the Declaration of Independence. Great talking points and gave me an insight to what the Chinese people had to deal with. She shows clearly we are blessed.

heartbreaking

some words were difficult to understand, like drawing, due to the narrator accent, and because I sped up the audio because it was to slow.