We served the people

We served the people! In China, an entire generation’s most formative years took place in remote rural areas when city kids were sent to the countryside to become rusticated youth and partake in Mao’s mandated Great Leap Forward. In an inspiring tale, Emei Burrell shares her mother’s true experience during the Down to the Countryside Movement of the early 1970s, which sought to increase agricultural outreach and spur social and ideological change amongst youth. Burell’s stunning illustrations honor her mother’s courage, strength, and determination during a decade of tremendous political upheaval.

Burrell tells her mother’s stories of perseverance and determination during her forced “rustification” to rural China

amidst the decade-long Cultural Revolution, and her striving to make up for lost time in the years afterwards.