The dramatic and fascinating story of Chai Ling, commander-in-chief of the student protesters at Tiananmen Square and witness to the massacre of thousands of Chinese civilians. Risking imprisonment and possible death for her leadership role in the student democracy movement, she was on the run in China for ten months while being hunted by the authorities. She eventually escaped to the U.S., completed her education at Princeton and Harvard, found true love, and became a highly successful entrepreneur. But her desperate quest for freedom, purpose, and peace—which she had sought in turn through academic achievement, romantic love, political activism, and career success—was never satisfied until she had an unexpected encounter with a formerly forbidden faith. Her newfound passion for God led to her life’s greatest mission: Fighting for the lives and rights of young girls in China.
A Heart for Freedom
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Gripping . . . moving . . . A compelling tale rich in narrative detail that will keep you completely engrossed. --(David Aikman, former TIME magazine Beijing bureau chief, and eyewitness to the Tiananmen massacre )
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Review
Gripping . . . moving . . . A compelling tale rich in narrative detail that will keep you completely engrossed (David Aikman, former TIME magazine Beijing bureau chief, and eyewitness to the Tiananmen massacre )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The moving and inspiring story of a young Chinese student leader seeking political freedom in Tiananmen Square who finds it and much more years later through her encounter with God. Chai Ling tells how her spiritual freedom now compels her to confront the "one child" policy in China, an injustice for millions of families and especially their young girls.
115 of 134 people found the following review helpful
Illuminating, convicting and transformative - I am a changed man after reading this book
October 4, 2011
Format:Hardcover
As an Ivy League graduate and Chinese-American male, I had my own preconceptions before reading Chai Ling's book. I thought I knew everything there was to know about modern Chinese culture, having visited many different parts of China several times. But then I read Ling's book, and three things happened: I was illuminated about the real situation in China; I was convicted about my own apathy (and even endorsement) of what is happening; and I was transformed as I began to see the deep love God has for the Chinese people, from the ranks of the Politburo all the way down to the millions of $2/day peasants. Allow me to elaborate on each point:
Illuminated: Ling doesn't hold back at all, sharing her joys and sorrows, triumphs and defeats. She isn't trying to paint herself as a hero, and it is for this reason that I trust her account of what really happened in the spring of 1989, and what has followed since. I was struck by her earnestness, and also by the level of detail she uses throughout. She shares with an uncomfortable rawness the tragedy of what happened at Tiananmen--the mistakes of the democratic student movement and the failures of the government that mercilessly crushed the movement, literally, to death. Then, I was shocked by the account of what continues today through the one-child policy, a Tiananmen massacre every hour.
Convicted: I was convicted on two fronts--the first, that I have stood idly by while millions of women live under fear and oppression as a result of both the one-child policy and the culture of gendercide. Ling's account opened my eyes to the horror of what a population control policy really means; after all, how could you possibly enforce that policy except by forced abortions and forced sterilizations? Second, I was convicted of the role that men have played in the last century in basically forcing women to terminate their pregnancies. Ling shares candidly about her own four abortions, all the result of pressure from men and society. Here, it is not merely the government, but it is the culture that gives men authority over women's bodies, whether they be a girlfriend, a wife, or a daughter. As a man, I was convicted that I am at fault for this massive loss of life and the pain that we have caused women. We should be cherishing and protecting women, not oppressing and condemning them.
Transformed: It's easy to point the finger at others, but it's a lot harder to point the finger inward and allow God to do all the rearranging. Yet that's exactly what Ling has done. By the end of the book, I was angry at China--at its leadership, at its culture, at its men. And how much more should Ling feel deep hatred, resentment and bitterness! Instead, she has embraced the God of love and the God of forgiveness. Through Jesus Christ, she has found a way to forgive those who have hurt her, and to extend the love of Christ to all. That doesn't mean she's soft on injustice--on the contrary, the NGO she founded, All Girls Allowed ([...]) , is a living example of how Ling has channeled her convictions in a way that both protects the innocent while loving the guilty.
If you haven't yet committed your life to Jesus Christ, I encourage you to read this book and learn how Ling--after all that she endured--came to commit her life to Christ. If you are a believer, read this book to remind you of God's awesome power and grace, and then share it with your friends who don't know him!
Illuminated: Ling doesn't hold back at all, sharing her joys and sorrows, triumphs and defeats. She isn't trying to paint herself as a hero, and it is for this reason that I trust her account of what really happened in the spring of 1989, and what has followed since. I was struck by her earnestness, and also by the level of detail she uses throughout. She shares with an uncomfortable rawness the tragedy of what happened at Tiananmen--the mistakes of the democratic student movement and the failures of the government that mercilessly crushed the movement, literally, to death. Then, I was shocked by the account of what continues today through the one-child policy, a Tiananmen massacre every hour.
Convicted: I was convicted on two fronts--the first, that I have stood idly by while millions of women live under fear and oppression as a result of both the one-child policy and the culture of gendercide. Ling's account opened my eyes to the horror of what a population control policy really means; after all, how could you possibly enforce that policy except by forced abortions and forced sterilizations? Second, I was convicted of the role that men have played in the last century in basically forcing women to terminate their pregnancies. Ling shares candidly about her own four abortions, all the result of pressure from men and society. Here, it is not merely the government, but it is the culture that gives men authority over women's bodies, whether they be a girlfriend, a wife, or a daughter. As a man, I was convicted that I am at fault for this massive loss of life and the pain that we have caused women. We should be cherishing and protecting women, not oppressing and condemning them.
Transformed: It's easy to point the finger at others, but it's a lot harder to point the finger inward and allow God to do all the rearranging. Yet that's exactly what Ling has done. By the end of the book, I was angry at China--at its leadership, at its culture, at its men. And how much more should Ling feel deep hatred, resentment and bitterness! Instead, she has embraced the God of love and the God of forgiveness. Through Jesus Christ, she has found a way to forgive those who have hurt her, and to extend the love of Christ to all. That doesn't mean she's soft on injustice--on the contrary, the NGO she founded, All Girls Allowed ([...]) , is a living example of how Ling has channeled her convictions in a way that both protects the innocent while loving the guilty.
If you haven't yet committed your life to Jesus Christ, I encourage you to read this book and learn how Ling--after all that she endured--came to commit her life to Christ. If you are a believer, read this book to remind you of God's awesome power and grace, and then share it with your friends who don't know him!
45 of 51 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I wish Chai Ling had waited a few more years to tell her story.
In A heart for Freedom, she recounts the events that led to her involvement in the leadership of the Tiananmen Square student protest in China in 1989. We have a front-row seat as the students and the Chinese government come to a stand-off over personal freedoms, and we vicariously experience the horror of the massacre. Ling evokes our sympathy as she tells us what like to leave her country as a political refugee to start over, a young girl alone and misunderstood.
The final third of the book was the most compelling, as Ling details coming to terms with her helplessness to change the political system in China, her conversion to Christianity and the process of grief and repentance over her four abortions. We see her understanding progress-- first Ling realizes that her abortions ended the lives of real children--that something wrong happened. She grieves over her loss and begins to talk about it. At first she blames China's one child policy and her ex-husband, but eventually she comes to realize her own role and to understand grace and forgiveness.
On the positive side, it is possible for someone to read this book (and especially the description of grace on page 320) and learn enough about God to be converted. Ling's honest testimony of struggle, of learning about God and the truth about her own sin and helplessness over the period of several months is no simple reciting of a sinner's prayer - there was real change involved in her life and I have no doubt that she knows God.
But on the negative side, I found that Ling came across as judgmental toward nearly everyone she mentions in the book, while condemning the same trait in others. Everyone from her father, boyfriends, friends, potential employers to her current husband (whom she seems to love very much) seems not to have "done it right" in their relationship to her. For example, when Ling finally confesses her abortions to a spiritual mentor, she is asked, "Did you confess to God? He will forgive you." Sound advice, right? Not according to Ling. She left judged by her friend. Over and over she says in her book, "For the Chinese women who will someday come out of their trauma, what they need to hear first is not, `Come to God and He will forgive you.' but, `Come to God and He will love you, heal you, and free you.'" It's as if Ling cannot stand even the implied criticism by her friend that she needs forgiveness. This is only one of dozens of examples where Ling explains to us her "rightness" sometimes at the cost of condemning the actions and attitudes of others. This is where a little Christian maturity might have tempered some of her judgments and made the book a more edifying read.
That being said, I do believe that because of her unique role in China's history, Chai Ling has a story to tell about grace that no one else could tell. I'll be anxious to see what God does through Chai Ling and her non-profit, [...] in claiming China for Christ.
Review by Susan Verstraete [...]
In A heart for Freedom, she recounts the events that led to her involvement in the leadership of the Tiananmen Square student protest in China in 1989. We have a front-row seat as the students and the Chinese government come to a stand-off over personal freedoms, and we vicariously experience the horror of the massacre. Ling evokes our sympathy as she tells us what like to leave her country as a political refugee to start over, a young girl alone and misunderstood.
The final third of the book was the most compelling, as Ling details coming to terms with her helplessness to change the political system in China, her conversion to Christianity and the process of grief and repentance over her four abortions. We see her understanding progress-- first Ling realizes that her abortions ended the lives of real children--that something wrong happened. She grieves over her loss and begins to talk about it. At first she blames China's one child policy and her ex-husband, but eventually she comes to realize her own role and to understand grace and forgiveness.
On the positive side, it is possible for someone to read this book (and especially the description of grace on page 320) and learn enough about God to be converted. Ling's honest testimony of struggle, of learning about God and the truth about her own sin and helplessness over the period of several months is no simple reciting of a sinner's prayer - there was real change involved in her life and I have no doubt that she knows God.
But on the negative side, I found that Ling came across as judgmental toward nearly everyone she mentions in the book, while condemning the same trait in others. Everyone from her father, boyfriends, friends, potential employers to her current husband (whom she seems to love very much) seems not to have "done it right" in their relationship to her. For example, when Ling finally confesses her abortions to a spiritual mentor, she is asked, "Did you confess to God? He will forgive you." Sound advice, right? Not according to Ling. She left judged by her friend. Over and over she says in her book, "For the Chinese women who will someday come out of their trauma, what they need to hear first is not, `Come to God and He will forgive you.' but, `Come to God and He will love you, heal you, and free you.'" It's as if Ling cannot stand even the implied criticism by her friend that she needs forgiveness. This is only one of dozens of examples where Ling explains to us her "rightness" sometimes at the cost of condemning the actions and attitudes of others. This is where a little Christian maturity might have tempered some of her judgments and made the book a more edifying read.
That being said, I do believe that because of her unique role in China's history, Chai Ling has a story to tell about grace that no one else could tell. I'll be anxious to see what God does through Chai Ling and her non-profit, [...] in claiming China for Christ.
Review by Susan Verstraete [...]
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Difficult read
Chai has an incredible story, speaking out against China's one-child policy and forced abortions. Having experienced four herself, her heart was absolutely broken for the women who... Read more
Published 1 month ago by R. Jolly
Everyone should read this book
The stories in this book will stick with me for a long time.
Before reading this, I'm ashamed to admit that hearing Tiananmen Square evoked little more than memories of bolded... Read more
Before reading this, I'm ashamed to admit that hearing Tiananmen Square evoked little more than memories of bolded... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rachel
Love this gripping story
I read this book after learning about Chai Lings ministry, All Girls Allowed. I was so moved learning what the ministry does I wanted to know more about her story. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Gretchen
Jim
I found it hard to put down. An amazing story, journey. I would enthusiastically recommend it, and have given a number of copies to friends.
Published 1 month ago by James Nite
God's grace brings true freedom
This is a very inspirational story of a young Chinese student leader who became involved in the struggle for political freedom in her country only to discover that true freedom... Read more
Published 1 month ago by KeYunLu
Non-starter
Interested in the subject but the writing was hard to wade through. Made it through the first 10 pages and then stopped. Maybe it picked up from there.
Published 2 months ago by Catherine Potyen
inside a revolution from a woman's view
Very interesting to get a woman's inside view of the student movement in communist China. She often refers to a "democratic communist" system and wanting their leaders to be more... Read more
Published 2 months ago by commamama
Tom P.
This well written, fact filled book revealed in detail many things we in America may not be aware of about China. It made me thank God I am an American!
Published 2 months ago by Thomas J. Piacentino, Sr
A Must Read
This is one of the best books i've read in a very long time. I am recommending it to everyone i know. It is well-written, well thought out, interesting and instructive. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Bobbi Mogelefsky
Good history
I came across this book when it was on sale and decided to get it because I was so vague in what happened in The Square. I found it to be enlightening.
Published 2 months ago by Highe_c
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