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Double Happiness: One Man's Tale of Love, Loss, and Wonder on the Long Roads of China Paperback – December 12, 2013

by Tony Brasunas (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 108 ratings
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At twenty-two, Tony Brasunas has never left the United States nor taught a class on anything when he arrives in hot, coastal Guangzhou, China, armed only with a beginner’s grasp of Mandarin. He is thrown in front of a classroom of awestruck ninth graders who repeatedly befuddle him with hilarious and revealing requests. Gradually, trial and error with his rambunctious students, trickery and generosity in the street markets, and conversations over mouth-watering rabbit with new friends from all walks of life fuel his hunger to understand Chinese culture and draw him deeply into the local community.

When the school year ends, a harder and more rugged journey begins. With just a backpack and the goal of reaching the mythical Tiger Leaping Gorge two thousand kilometers away, he sets off across the vastness of China, along the Silk Road in the north, and to the edge of ancient Tibet in the west. His path brings friendship, danger, romance, and wild twists of fate that transform his basic understanding of right and wrong, beauty and love, suffering and happiness.

A journey across China and through the soul of a young American, Double Happiness is not just travel writing at its very finest but a groundbreaking story of coming of age in the era of globalization.

"A life-altering experience... teaching, traveling, and transformation." (San Jose Mercury News)

"A very talented writer... a journey filled with rich insight." (Writer's Digest Book Awards)

"Inspirational and striking... travel writing at its best." (Midwest Book Review)

"Sweeps you across the ocean to another land... a journey that will leave you forever changed." (The Book Wheel)

"A brilliant new writer takes us on an unforgettable journey..." (Anodea Judith, author of Waking the Global Heart)
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    350 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    December 12, 2013
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.88 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0991166248
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0991166244
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A life-altering experience... teaching, traveling, and transformation." (San Jose Mercury News)

"A very talented writer... a journey filled with rich insight." (Writer's Digest Book Awards)

"Inspirational and striking... travel writing at its best." (Midwest Book Review)

"Sweeps you across the ocean to another land... a journey that will leave you forever changed." (The Book Wheel)

"A brilliant new writer takes us on an unforgettable journey..." (Anodea Judith, author of Waking the Global Heart)

__________

From the Back Cover

Tony Brasunas arrives in hot, coastal, Guangzhou, China, armed only with a beginner's grasp of the local language, and he is thrown in front of thirty-seven awestruck, uniformed ninth graders. Trial and error with his students, trickery and generosity in the street markets, and conversations over mouth-watering rabbit with new friends fuel his hunger to understand China and draw him deeply into his new community.

When the school year ends, with just a backpack and a handful of wild expectations, Brasunas sets off alone across the vastness of China, along the Silk Road in the north, and to the edge of ancient Tibet in the west. A rugged path brings friendship, danger, romance, and wild encounters with fate that uproot his basic understanding of right and wrong, beauty and love, suffering and happiness.

A journey across China and through the soul of a young American, Double Happiness is both travel writing at its very finest and a groundbreaking story of coming of age in the era of globalization.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Torchpost (December 12, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 350 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0991166248
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0991166244
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.14 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.88 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 108 ratings

About the author

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Tony Brasunas

Tony Brasunas

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Tony Brasunas was censored by Huffington Post for covering the 2016 Democratic primary from a perspective too friendly to Bernie Sanders. A nonpartisan freelance journalist, his writings have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines in both corporate and independent media.

Brasunas grew up at Claymont, an intentional community in rural West Virginia. He attended Milton High School in Atlanta, Ga. and graduated from Amherst College in Massachusetts. He then set off around the globe in search of adventure.

Double Happiness, his first book, recounted his experiences in China and won several awards, including Best Memoir (Paris Book Festival). Red White & Blind, published in 2023, is his second book.

When he's not writing, he's playing guitar, chess, or soccer, engineering fronted internet software, or traveling in a distant land. He lives in Sebastopol, Calif., with his wife, son, and two dozen apple trees.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
108 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Emile
5.0 out of 5 stars wow, just wow
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2014
Verified Purchase
Brilliant combination of a classic road trip through many faces of China, and a personal journey of self-awareness. Brasunas makes himself really vulnerable for the reader, exploring not just the timeless surroundings of mid-90s China, but his own soul. The book is full of graceful, lonely, joyous, human moments. I only wish I was that brave at 23, to take on these challenges and to get so much back in return. Inspirational story

In the first half Brasunas sets the stage for China and himself, moving the reader between busy situations of Beijing and slow and humid life in Guangzhou where he was teaching. Great moments indeed, but as engaging as that was, the book blossoms in the second half of his travels through China, tackling local surroundings and life, but more importantly human conditions of peace, acceptance and struggle of every kind, fear especially. I recommend this book to anyone who want to learn something about themselves, especially someone who is going to travel any place for some time. I suspect this account has a lot in common with many other stories of finding yourself through catalyst of foreign cultures, places and people. The narrative is beautiful. And so was the meaning of it.
One person found this helpful
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Cheryl
4.0 out of 5 stars It's not 'Iron & Silk' but still a good read
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2017
Verified Purchase
Good autobiography about Mr. Brasunas' years in China as a teacher. Felt a bit like it was meant to be more like lessons than stories, but overall, a pleasant read.
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Brad Newsham
5.0 out of 5 stars Made me ache to travel
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2014
Verified Purchase
I loved this book on so many different levels. I loved watching a young man (who so much reminded me of my once-upon-a-time self) traveling away from his privileged home to wet his toes in Life. I loved seeing the China of 1997, the year the British handed Hong Kong back over to China. I loved Tony's descriptions of the people he meets along the way. I loved his explorations of What does it mean to be human? And what does it mean to live in the moment? The book was thoughtful and intelligent throughout, with Tony's sweetness and respect for others and for Life Itself, permeating every page and vignette and sentence. The writing was clear, lyrical -- often it was poetry. When Tony leaves his teaching post in Guangzhou and goes off to see other parts of China, I saw a China I had never really imagined or visualized -- a land of staggering physical beauty, painted so vividly that I could smell and visualize the forests and canyons and mountains and waterfalls. (I visited China once myself, briefly, during two weeks in 1984, when I was 32 years old, but I never saw its natural wonders.) I loved Tony's version of the mentality of the traveler -- the doubts, the frustrations, the wonder, the exhilaration, everything. I'm now 62 years old, and I once circled the world with my backpack four times, but I have let 25 years pass slip past without a 'big trip', and this book was a priceless reminder to me that Travel is Important. Delivering this message in writing is, god knows, a very hard thing to do, but Tony pulls it off. When I turned the last page I felt a palpable physical ache -- as though I had gone on this adventure myself and had aged and matured along the way -- I even found myself hoping that I could take the lessons I learned in China (through Tony) and, instead of fumbling them away, could manage to use them wisely during the remainder of my life.

If you like trips, and if you like a good solid strong rich warm compassionate daring travel book, I think you will like this one.
6 people found this helpful
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314
5.0 out of 5 stars Double Insights: Outer and Inner
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is a fascinating and important book for two very different reasons. First, on the "outside" it is a captivating and insightful snapshot of China at a pivotal, half way point in its transition from the Cultural Revolution into the world super power that it is today. In the time of Double Happiness, the echoes of the Revolution are still reverberating strongly and impact Tony Brasunas' experience in unexpected ways, giving us vision back into the Cultural Revolution in ways that those of us in the West rarely get.

Secondly, the author opens to us a breathtakingly candid window to his inner life during the emergence from adolescence into adulthood. Wrestling with the meaning of life and his response to issues brought up by the jolt of waking up in a foreign culture, and intimidating questions of "making it" in the world..... all are shared with us without guile or "spin." For this reason, this book speaks directly to that innocent yet highly perceptive part of ourselves that has evolved as we've matured into whatever rudder we think we have in this life.

For all of this, and also for the humor of "Donkey" and escapades with the other kids, and the pure fun of following Tony's off the beaten path adventures, this book is a top pick.
2 people found this helpful
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Reads4fun
3.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2015
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The author of this book writes beautifully. His descriptions of China will put you right in the midst of the people and the countryside. You will be with him on each leg of his journey to self-discovery. My only complaint was the length of the book. I drew weary towards the end and struggled to stay focused finding myself skipping through a great deal of the last few sections. The beauty of the book began to wane and I just wanted it to end. Nonetheless, this author definitely has a gift for words.
2 people found this helpful
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