Amy Tan was born in Oakland, California on February 19, 1952. She is the second child of John and Daisy Tan. Daisy left three daughters behind in china while fleeing the communist troops. John Tan was an electrical engineer in Beijing and in America he became a Baptist minister. Amy was the only girl. She had one older brother and one younger brother. Her younger brother died in 1967 and her father died six months after. At fifteen she moved with her mother and brother to Europe and a t the age of sixteen was arrested for drugs. She nearly eloped with a German in Austria.

Daisy Tan wanted her daughter to become a neurosurgeon or a concert pianist, but Amy wanted to major in English. Amy married a tax attorney named Lou DeMattie. She became a consultant for disabled children. Then she became a reporter, editor and publisher for Emergency...