Year of the Water Horse: A Memoir

Washington Post editor Page reflects on family trauma and the ties that bind in her funny and affecting debut. Moving semi-chronologically, the account begins with Page’s bumpy childhood in suburban Massachusetts, her teenage struggles with anorexia, and her complicated relationship with her bipolar mother and much-older siblings. Later, she dives into the family history of her husband, James, a Taiwanese immigrant she met while waitressing in a Chinese restaurant outside of Boston. Facing political persecution from the Chinese Communist regime during the Cold War, James’s family fled to Taiwan, leaving behind a sister he wouldn’t meet for several decades. Things come full circle when Page and James decide to adopt a baby from China, prompting the author to consider what she’s inherited from her mother, what James has inherited from his, and which cycles she’d like to break as she embarks on her own journey of motherhood. Armed with sharp wit and bracing emotional intelligence, Page tackles heavy subjects with an admirably light touch, rendering each of her relatives in three dimensions and prompting readers to think deeply about the legacies they’ve inherited from their own families. It’s an auspicious first outing. Agent: Val Frankle, Aevitas Creative Management. (Dec.)