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A Heart for Freedom
By Chai Ling

I’m not sure I’ve really talked about what types of books I enjoy reading.  I especially love biographies or autobiographies and historical fiction around the time of WWII.  Even though this book is an autobiography, I can’t really say I’ve been really interested in chinese history, although I’m sure it would be helpful considering how closely tied the US is to China these days.  This book was amazing.  I could hardly put it down.  I’ve really enjoyed reading about histories of other countries lately and this is another to top the list.

Ling does an amazing job of telling her own story from when she was a child until as recently as 2011.  She was one of the main leaders during the Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 5th 1989.  Ling accurately describes her part in the movement and what led to her involvement prior to the incident.  The start of the movement was long before the massacre even happened.  Students from all over China and Hong Kong convened on Tiananmen Square as early as April in response to a beloved leader’s death.  Because of how the government responded to their support and memorial of this leader things began to spiral out of control.

This book isn’t only about the events that took place on that day, but more importantly how Chai Ling escaped the country, began a new life in the United States and how she began to heal from all that she endured in China.  She is still passionate about freedom for China, but now she has been moved even deeper in other ways.

She is now a sold out believer for Christ and is passionately trying to serve and care for the women of China who have been victims of forced abortions and advocating on their behalf.  She is brutally honest and humble about her own history and uses that in her quest to end the one child law in China today.

Chai Ling has started a non profit organization called All Girls Allowed to fight for the protection, freedom and safety of all women and girls in China.
This book is hard to put down, is gripping and it’s completely amazing and God’ obvious providence that this woman went from commander and chief of the movement at Tiananmen Square, to being on the most wanted list, escape to America and went on to complete an Ivy League education, marry an American, start her own company and more importantly meet Jesus Christ.

Here is a great interview with Chai Ling about her life and experiences which led her to starting All Girls Allowed.

Read it for yourself!  It’s one of my new favorites!

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