Writer and artist Belle Yang began her graphic memoir, Forget Sorrow: An Ancestral Tale, during time spent at her parents’ home escaping the harassment of an abusive ex-boyfriend. Sequestered with her family, Yang used the time to explore their rich and tumultuous past, through famine, war, and changing fortunes in 19th century China. In her ancestral history, Yang finds the strength to overcome personal obstacles and, as her Chinese name Xuan to dictates, “forget sorrow.” Reserve your spot through Asia Society’s ticketing site (http://www.asiasociety.org/events-calendar/author-conversation-belle-yang-forget-sorrow).
Belle Yang was born in Taiwan and raised in Japan and the United States. During a year in Scotland, Yang rejected a planned career as a doctor and decided instead to emulate her father and become an artist. Her arrival in China in order to study at the Academy of Traditional Painting constituted a certain homecoming—one which was rudely shattered by the events at Tiananmen. Subsequently she returned to the United States, beginning a successful career as a writer and illustrator. She now lives in Carmel, California, and counts Blake and Sun-Tzu among her favorite authors.
Belle Yang was born in Taiwan and raised in Japan and the United States. During a year in Scotland, Yang rejected a planned career as a doctor and decided instead to emulate her father and become an artist. Her arrival in China in order to study at the Academy of Traditional Painting constituted a certain homecoming—one which was rudely shattered by the events at Tiananmen. Subsequently she returned to the United States, beginning a successful career as a writer and illustrator. She now lives in Carmel, California, and counts Blake and Sun-Tzu among her favorite authors.
