Advice from Aunt Qi: Life Wisdom on Love, Life, and the Essence of American Culture

Author: Gerald Serrant
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: A centenarian shares her wisdom, insights, and the art of detachment, urging us to re-examine our past, present lives, and the future we are about to embrace. This book helps Americans understand their nation better and people from around the world understand the United States, especially the life journey of ordinary Americans. On a warm spring day, Gerald Serrant visits her kind and affectionate Italian-American centenarian aunt, Gigi, as usual. For years, at her small dining table, there was not only delicious food but also deep family bonds, profound maternal love, and her aunt's insightful, wise, and witty words. They talk about the beautiful times they once shared, filled with love and the sweetness of home: family reunions at dinner; Sunday church services; endless joy shared with parents, brothers, and sisters; neighborly kindness and mutual help; and close friendships. Looking back, they feel that life has lost something, leaving their hearts hollow. How did this happen? What can we do about it? Gigi's words always make listeners think deeply, and the questions she raises point directly to the fundamental problems of our time: work, family, healthcare, politics, war, and the aging population in the United States. In these areas, has the United States fulfilled its promises? Is it worth sacrificing many precious traditions in the pursuit of progress? Is life truly richer today than in the past? What does the future hold for each of us, for every family, and for society as a whole?