The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane: A Novel

In a remote mountain village, Li-yan and her family live according to the seasons and the farming of tea. The Akha people maintain their rituals and routines until a stranger arrives in a jeep—the first automobile the villagers have ever seen. This marks the entry of the modern world into their isolated community. Li-yan, one of the few educated girls in her village, begins to reject the customs of her upbringing. When she becomes pregnant out of wedlock with a man her parents disapprove of, she refuses the tradition that would require her to give up the child. Instead, she leaves her daughter wrapped in a blanket with a tea cake near an orphanage in a nearby city, then pursues education, business, and city life. Meanwhile, Li-yan's daughter, Haley, grows up in California with adoptive parents. Despite her privileged upbringing, Haley searches for understanding of her origins. Across the ocean, Li-yan longs for her lost daughter. Over the years, both search for meaning through the study of Pu'er tea, which has shaped their family's destiny for generations. The novel explores circumstances, culture, and distance while portraying the bond between mother and daughter.