books
by anna carin hart
books
Anna writes memoir in essay, short story and long form.
Betrayal
A Memoir
Betrayal is the story of a grown daughter’s search to uncover the mysteries of her late father’s life. She knows her uncle somehow betrayed him after their escape from Shanghai just before the revolution. She knows he spent 13 years living in exile on the small Portuguese fishing island of Macau, off the coast of Hong Kong and China. She knows that while there, he had a profound experience which led to his conversion from Buddhism to Evangelical Christian. She’s been told that without his faith, he would have killed his brother. But she doesn’t know the details of what happened and the breadth of the story… Yet.
Foreign
A Memoir
Anna lives her life on the periphery looking in. At least that’s her perception. There are occasions, sometimes even years, where she dips her toe, if not her whole being across the line to the inside. Some of her high school years feel like that, as does much of her time in Hong Kong. But even then, the niggling voice in her head is always there to remind her that she is “other” and does not belong. Anna is half Chinese, which is not quite Chinese enough. She is also half Swedish, even though as a young girl the split feels more 70/30 leaning towards Scandinavia. She is born in Seoul, then raised in various rented homes in the wealthy suburbs of Boston. As soon as she graduates from high school she runs away (from what she is not yet sure) towards an adventurous life that lands her at varies times over three decades in Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Africa. In all these places, despite her best efforts, she never completely fits in, often being referred to as “The American Woman,” the irony of which is not lost on her. A part of her permanently feels foreign, even to herself, until one day, after years in exile in South Africa, she learns what it takes to belong.
Short Stories from a Long Life
10-Book Series
Madcap adventures fill the pages of Anna’s colorful life. Rich characters come in and out of her orbit in the various countries and continents she calls home during the many chapters of her life. Some are set in their old-fashioned ways, others are mentors and innovators, guiding her to live her best life. A few unsavoury characters are destructive and need to be purged. Is she able to differentiate the good from the bad? Along her journey she meets them all; a kind shaman, a corrupt immigration lawyer, a validating mechanic, and a misogynistic psychiatrist. Sprinkled throughout are amazing people and life-long friends. Some players only enter her story briefly, others remain main characters to the end. All of them provide valuable life lessons that form the adult Anna becomes.
Drawing from her childhood living as a third-culture kid in America, to her 28 years living as an expatriate, Anna weaves together her experiences and unique viewpoint in this memoir short story book series. Each book in the 10-book series tackles a specific theme from birth to faith, crime to immigration, relocation to patriarchy, identity to loss and much more.
It’s hard to define. You’ll just have to come along for the ride.
Interested agents and publishers please contact: anna@mandarionom.com