A moving account of family lore and life, Once Our Lives is paradoxically both heartrending and heartening – heartrending in its depiction of this family’s suffering and heartening in its depiction of the love that survives it all. I was riveted and moved.

—Gish Jen, award-winning author of Thank you, Mr. Nixon, featured in The New Yorker’s Best Books of 2022, NPR’s Books We Love, Oprah’s Favorite Books of 2022, and The Best American Short Stories of the Century .

This gripping memoir illuminates the full humanity of real people across four generations as they traverse the tectonics of modern China. A truly haunting tale of resilience, endurance and hope. 

—Helen Zia, acclaimed author of Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese who Fled Mao’s Revolution

Qin Stubis combines oral traditions of mythologized family lore with the creative non-fiction writing of memoir. The reader experiences firsthand the vacillations of recent Chinese history. 

—Dr. Jennifer Rudolph, Professor, Asian History, WPI, and co-author of The China Questions

A wonderful writer whose extraordinary ability and beautifully descriptive writing allow her to share her unusual experiences with readers in a uniquely powerful way. 

—Diane Margolin, editor and publisher, the Santa Monica Star

Qin Sun Stubis is notable for the warmth of her writing and her ability to touch the hearts and minds of a wide variety of readers – a rare talent. —Christine Crosby, founder and editorial director, GRAND Magazine

Review copies available for mailing across Canada and the US.

Pitching widely to US media (broadcast/print/radio)

Qin Sun Stubis will be holding launches and readings in Washington D.C., Toronto, and other cities TBC.