Friends will take you by the hand and help you cross a busy street. Occasionally, they will lead you into a whole new world. An American woman takes a cultural fling into China and finds humorous and engaging adventures as her Shanghai driver tries to keep her out of trouble in a land she struggles to understand, and her Chinese friends become as unforgettable to her as the China she comes to love. From supermarkets to restaurants, and her driver who doesn't speak English, every aspect of her daily life contains a challenge. In Cutted Chicken in Shanghai, we join Sharon as she interacts with Chinese people and uncovers similarities. Her quick wit, humor, and open heart endear her to those she meets. Interspersed with snapshots from her past, this book is an opening into the ancient kingdom where there is something deeply familiar at its core. When Sharon first faced those busy Shanghai streets and asked for help crossing, never did she suspect she was being led home. Cutted Chicken in Shanghai is an honest and delightfully realized memoir full of humor, warmth, and thoughtful insights into the sometimes inscrutable (to Westerners) culture of the people of the "Middle Kingdom," which is unflinchingly described, warts and all. The author's affection for the people of Shanghai and the city itself is unmistakable, and readers will find this well-written diary-cum-travelogue an eye-opening and entertaining read.


SHARON WINTERS has retired from teaching English and math, but continues to study Mandarin and visit China. She has a BS in psychology from Illinois State University and an MA in humanities from the University of Texas. Her stories have appeared in the MENSA BULLETIN: The Magazine of American MENSA, as well as The New Mensican, and The Rodent Reader Quarterly. Sharon Winters effortlessly captures the linguistic and cultural differences between China and America in an affectionate and amusing way. I smiled all the way through. Robert Wasserman, Author: My Life on Golden Pond