By Timothy Petkovic
The podcast currently has 7 episodes available.
English Synopsis:
Torrey’s Story (Hong Kong: Restoration House, 2020) draws on Ryan’s real-life experiences raising five (!!!) children through fostering and adoption. Ryan is a Hong Kong social worker, a senior consultant for local charity Mother’s Choice, and co-founded Adoptive Families of Hong Kong (AFHK).
Raised by Christian missionaries in Taiwan, where she used to work at a local orphanage growing up, Ryan has lived in Hong Kong for 33 years. She describes Chinese as her first language.
Her book deals with one of her sons, Torrey’s, special needs: “Torrey is just like you and me, except he has to work harder to learn and do everything.” Through his loving surrogate family, Torrey learns to overcome some of the fears and anxieties associated with cerebral palsy, discovering that bravery – like family – can take many forms.
Also joining me is Joey Ryan. Joey recounts a different set of difficulties : the trauma and emotional pain of coming to understand, aged 9, that he was adopted. Though he was filled with rage at his abandonment, Joey eventually learned to heal - helped by school, faith, friends, and the slow realisation that family is not a biological fact.
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Chinese Synopsis:
《Torrey’s Story》是Gretchen的真實故事，取材自她寄養和領養五(!!!)個孩子的點滴，而當中的精美插圖交由插畫師Kiet Van創作。Gretchen是一名 香港 #社工，在本地慈善團體 #母親的抉擇 任高級顧問，也是 #香港領養家庭 (Adoptive Families of Hong Kong (AFHK))的聯合創辦人。
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Fool Me Twice: Confessions of a Perpetual Internet Dating Neophyte (Hasmark Services Publishing, 2018) is a confessional memoir from Jules Hannaford, an Australian expat who’s lived in Hong Kong for 20 years.
Trying to answer this question, Hannaford delves back into her childhood memories of Wattle Vale, Adelaide: from sexual assault at the hands of a school bully, to a near-beheading on another boy's motorbike. Contradictorily, Hannaford's childhood was also idyllic, marked by loving parents and and a nurturing all-girls boarding school.
Hannaford also gives safety tips for online daters by identifying the red flags she missed, and gleefully teases Season Two of Fool Me Twice.
Dr. Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Chancellor's Professor of History at UC Irvine, discusses his new book, Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink (New York: Columbia Global Reports, 2020).
Wasserstrom frames Hong Kong's 2019/2020 protests, and the new National Security Law, in a wider historical narrative: from its colonial "founding" under the Treaty of Nanking (29 August 1842) to the 1997 Handover. The latter was itself prefaced by tense negotiations between Margaret Thatcher and Deng Xiaoping in the drafting of the Basic Law.
Temperate and moderate, Wasserstrom makes parallels to the controversial "T"s - Taiwan, Tibet, Tiananmen - even as he traces the limits of these analogies.
Wasserstrom also takes us through his drafting process, from revising its historical analogues to retitling the book. Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink beautifully blends fire and water, and nearly two centuries of history, into a pocket-sized primer.
English Synopsis:
Torrey’s Story draws on Gretchen’s real-life experiences raising five (!!!) children through fostering and adoption. Gretchen is a Hong Kong social worker, a senior consultant for local charity Mother’s Choice, and co-founded Adoptive Families of Hong Kong (AFHK).
Raised by Christian missionaries in Taiwan, where she used to work at a local orphanage growing up, Gretchen has lived in Hong Kong for 33 years.
Her book deals with her son, Torrey’s, special needs: “Torrey is just like you and me, except he has to work harder to learn and do everything.” Through his loving surrogate family, Torrey learns to overcome some of the fears and anxieties associated with cerebral palsy, discovering that bravery – like family – can take many forms.
Also joining me is Joey Ryan. Joey recounts a different set of difficulties : the trauma and emotional pain of coming to understand, aged 9, that he was adopted. Though he was filled with rage at his abandonment, Joey eventually learned to heal - helped by school, faith, friends, and the slow realisation that family is not a biological fact.
**
Chinese Synopsis:
《Torrey’s Story》是Gretchen的真實故事，取材自她寄養和領養五(!!!)個孩子的點滴，而當中的精美插圖交由插畫師Kiet Van創作。Gretchen是一名 香港 #社工，在本地慈善團體 #母親的抉擇 任高級顧問，也是 #香港領養家庭 (Adoptive Families of Hong Kong (AFHK))的聯合創辦人。
Fool Me Twice: Confessions of a Perpetual Internet Dating Neophyte (Hasmark Services Publishing, 2018) is a confessional memoir from Jules Hannaford, an Australian expat who’s lived in Hong Kong for 20 years.
Trying to answer this question, Hannaford delves back into her childhood memories of Wattle Vale, Adelaide: from sexual assault at the hands of a school bully, to a near-beheading on another boy's motorbike. Contradictorily, Hannaford's childhood was also idyllic, marked by loving parents and a nurturing all-girls boarding school.
Hannaford also gives safety tips for online daters by identifying the red flags she missed, and gleefully teases Season Two of Fool Me Twice.
Dr. Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Chancellor's Professor of History at UC Irvine, discusses his new book, Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink (New York: Columbia Global Reports, 2020).
Wasserstrom frames Hong Kong's 2019/2020 protests, and the new National Security Law, in a wider historical narrative - taking us back to the end of the First Opium War, and retracing the city's footsteps, including the 1991 Handover.
Temperate and moderate, Wasserstrom makes parallels to the controversial "T"s - Taiwan, Tibet, Tiananmen - even as he traces the limits of these analogies.
Wasserstrom also takes us through his drafting process, from retitling the book to revising its historical analogues.
'Gweilo' is a Cantonese racial epithet for a Westerner. It translates as 'white devil' or 'white ghost' - so, a pretty fitting title for a dying English expat recounting his Hong Kong childhood. The memoir 'Gweilo' is one of the region's most iconic books.
In our pilot episode, we hear about its stage adaptation, 'Gweilo, an original musical drama created by Micah Sandt and Hoi-fai Wu, presented by Pants Theatre Production, based on Martin Booth’s memoir.' We also hear from the book's editor Marianne Velmanns, who... okay, she just me sent an email. And she didn't remember *that* much (or anything) about the process! But my Mum reads it out, alongside some of Booth's book to boot. And Mum does it in her Australian accent, no less! Who doesn't love one of those?
Presented by Timothy Petkovic
The podcast currently has 7 episodes available.