94 pages • 3 hours read
Adeline Yen MahFalling Leaves
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1997A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Paired Texts & Other Resources
Use these links to supplement and complement students’ reading of the work and to increase their overall enjoyment of literature. Challenge them to discern parallel themes, engage through visual and aural stimuli, and delve deeper into the thematic possibilities presented by the title.
Recommended Texts for Pairing
- A short fairy tale by the Grimm Brothers for use in Activity 1
- Discuss characters and their situations and motivations
- “Cinderella” on SuperSummary
- A novel by Amy Tan
- Explores the deep connection between mothers and daughters in an Asian immigrant household
- The Joy Luck Club on SuperSummary
PRINCESS: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia
- A biography by Jean Sasson
- Displays similar themes of Gender Hierarchies and the Female Struggle in another culture
- A memoir by Frank McCourt
- A staple of the memoir genre centered on an Irish immigrant in Brooklyn with an unhappy childhood
- Angela’s Ashes on SuperSummary
- A biography by Mary Karr
- Provides an American example of the memoir genre dealing with an unhappy childhood in Texas
- The Liars’ Club on SuperSummary
Other Student Resources
“Family Ties: The Story of Adeline Yen Mah”
- 30-minute YouTube documentary
- Follows author Adeline Yen Mah as she revisits locations from her book Falling Leaves
- Britannica web entry defining and outlining the Cultural Revolution
“China's Future with Fewer Females | China: From the Inside”
- PBS China documentary webpage
- Explores consequences of sexist culture implementation of one-child policy
Teacher Resources
“Cultural Revolution in China: Purge of the Impure”
- PBS Teacher Resource: video, text, discussion questions, and teaching tips
- Follows chef Ming Tsai’s grandfather through the war and revolution as he flees communist control in search of freedom and safety.
"Students Should Read Memoirs in Classroom Settings. Here’s Why."
- Article by Stacia Datskovska published on Affinity Magazine website
- Discusses the value of teaching with memoirs to encourage emotional development
