My thoughts about the Broken Mirror, Inside a Chinese Marriage

I recently attended the Broken Mirror Inside A Chinese Marriage book launch held at the Manila Grand Opera Hotel. I found the book both interesting and intriguing. The book is about Aurora. The first part of the book talks about her childhood. Her father had five wives, Aurora's biological mom was the fourth wife. Her mother was murdered. Losing her mother at two, Aurora, as a child, was made to feel unwanted and unworthy of love. Her father took her to Hong Kong and asked the first wife to take care of her and eventually leave Aurora for work. Growing up, the only thing that she recall is that when she did something wrong, she was punished by her stepMom.

At an early age of 10, she learned how to work to survive. Her father obliged her to work in their junk shop (family business). Aurora already knew the value of hard work. As a young adult, she mistook lust for love and entered into relationships with men who abused her.

The next part of the book is about her dream family, her journey to have a family of her own. She married an immigrant from China and strove to be a traditional Chinese wife. But Aurora's "dream family" suddenly gone when her husband started drinking a lot with friends and had a love affair. What would you feel if your husband would admit that she was having a flirtation with another woman? That was really hard.  In the book, Aurora shows the secret Filipino-Chinese marriage.

My Thoughts about the Book

My husband and I recently celebrated our nine years of marriage. We only had a civil wedding and simple celebration since my husband just graduated from college that time. I must admit, it was never that easy to start a family and when it comes to my children, just like Aurora, my first born was also sickly during the early years. Thankfully, my family is there to guide me. This book is a good read, most specially to Moms like me. Reading her story, I was able to appreciate more what I have now. I may not have everything, "a big house, travel to different countries and luxurious things" like what Aurora had but I have a family that I can always lean on.

If only Aurora had a mother figure, perhaps an Auntie or a Lola (grandmother), her story could have been change. Maybe, she can grew up with the proper guidance needed. Still, I salute her for being so brave, for able to pass all the things that she gone through. Not to elaborate the story, the title itself speaks about what life does Aurora had. Just like a broken mirror, once broken, you can never bring it back.

Let me end this with this quote "A Broken heart is like a broken mirror. It is better to leave it broken than trying to fix it."

About the Author

Coylee Gamboa has a master's in Communications from Stanford University and Bachelor in Arts in Juornalism from the University of the Philippines. She was the financial markets editor of the Asia Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong and a news editor of the Business Times of Singapore. Based in Manila today, Coylee an editor and a book writer who assists people with their life's work and memoirs. She also takes photographs and paints. She collaborates with the ecumenical Marketplace Leaders Foundation and the Pimentel Institute for Local Governance on initiatives for national transformation.

Published By Caelestis Productions, Inc. Broken Mirror, Inside a Chinese Marriage is available at Fully Booked Stores