Escape from Tian Shan
Dr Zoia Harrison
A gripping memoir of survival, courage, and the unbreakable bonds of family set against the treacherous backdrop of Mao's Great Famine and the majestic Tian Shan mountains.
"It is Christmas 1958 and I am five years old, the daughter of a retired White Russian army commander. Mao Zedong's famine is rife in China and people are starving to death. In the dead of night, with snow falling heavily around us, my family sneaks out of our hometown of Kuldja with the intention of escaping from China over the Tian Shan mountains. As we travel to the nearest railway station, hundreds of kilometres away—having bribed the driver of a Chinese communist government truck—I inform my mother that people on horseback are fast approaching and wonder why her face turns the colour of white."
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About the Author
Dr Zoia Harrison was born on The Old Silk Road in Kuldja, Sinkiang, China and was four years old when Mao Zedong launched 'The Great Leap Forward'. This resulted in millions of people starving to death and millions more suffering at the hands of the Chinese communist government.
Zoia survived and travelled to Australia as a child refugee. After experiencing some hardship in Australia, she trained as a Registered Nurse and in later years went on to complete an Education degree, an Arts Honours degree and a PhD in Creative Writing.
