A Letter to Samantha

This book was written for Samantha, in the hope that through these letters she may come to know her Auntie Sue, who died before Samantha was born.  The book also reflects the harsh life of the ‘HaKa’ people, who during the 1960s and ‘70s uprooted themselves to England for economic reasons.   Most of these new immigrants ended up as restaurant or shop owners since employment opportunities were limited due to the language barrier and their lack of skills, forcing them to start own businesses.  The book also reflects the reality of these families’ struggle to make a living, working more then 12 hours a day, seven days a week with hardly anytime to rest.  Their whole world seemed to revolve around their own businesses, and this is why many of the older generation of Hakka people in England today still cannot speak a word of English.  Their businesses tended to be family orientated with the parents usually acting as chefs and the children helpers.

The struggle of these people acts as a backdrop to Letter of Samantha.

About the Author

Yip Sui Ping (Sue) was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to England with her sister to join the rest of her family at the age of seven or eight. Her parents owned a Chinese takeaway and she helped in the kitchen until she was old enough to serve behind the counter. She later moved to Sheffield where she obtained her first degree in BA (Hons) in Historical and Critical Studies. In the autumn of 1993, she moved back to Hong Kong to ‘get a taste of the Hong Kong people’s way of life’. She has been living in Hong Kong ever since. Her teaching career began in 1994 when she started work as an English and History teacher at Tai Po Sam Yuk Secondary School. In 1998, she obtained her Diploma in Education from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and later, in 2003 she was awarded with an MA in English for Specific Purposes by the City University of Hong Kong. She currently works as a lecturer in the Hang Seng School of Commerce. 

Yip Sui Ping is the mother of Samantha, her only child. She hopes that through this book, her daughter can get to know her aunt, who died in 1997 before Samantha was born.

Recommendations

An emotional collection of letters that will touch the readers’ hearts.

The letters, addressed to a daughter, aim to familiarize the little girl with her aunt whom she could never meet (the aunt passed away after a long and painful battle with cancer).  The contents of the letters beautifully convey a loving and strong relationship that the author and her family members have shared.  Yet, at the same time one can read a moving contrast in the portrayal of the author’s father whose authoritative and uncaring attitude led to much unhappiness among the whole clan.  Through her book the author has excellently brought to light the story of a woman who faced her destiny courageously right until the end.

Tarannum Khurshed

Msc. Community Resource Management

University of Delhi 

Life can’t afford any full-stops or commas here.

The emotions have been so overwhelming that there is no space for any commas or full-stops.  The love, hatred, indifference and tension have been so tangled that they overflow and shock the reader.  The best advice for the reader is to take a deep deep breath before he or she dares to open the first page of the book.

Blessed are those who have their emotions purged and merged in words and WORD.

Clara Cheng, author of The Hong Kong Tales:  Innocence vs Experience (2007)

“It takes a very special person to go through so much adversity and still come out on top.  Thank you so much for sharing her private hell with us.”

                                                Lily Wang BA (Canterbury New Zealand)

                                                        Teach Dip (Christchurch NZ) NET

• 香港教育城 [2012-04-12]