Newly released in paperback, Susan Conley’s memoir about her family’s move to Beijing has a little of everything. It’s funny, sweet and charming, but it’s also moving and emotional.

SheKnows Book Lounge, Swapna Krishna

When she and her family traded their house in Maine for a high-rise apartment in Beijing, Conley wasn’t ready to experience it through the lens of her own cancer diagnosis. A-.

Entertainment Weekly

This is a beautiful story of womanhood, motherhood, travel and loss, written by an author of rare and radiant grace.

author of Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert

Luminous… Conley’s writing is at once spare and strong… [She] pulls the reader into her world like a close friend.

Publishers Weekly, starred review

Her writing style is matter-of-fact… a compelling memoir of a woman–a wife, mother and writer–who happens to move to Beijing and contract the disease. At its root it is a book about family, about change and about adjustment.

City Weekend, Shanghai, Carlon Seider

An American mother recounts her struggle to adjust to a new life in Beijing—and then face another challenge, this one medical.

Oprah.com, Karen Holt

You hear about riveting prose, and this is it. The story is nailed down, noisily, in metal. The Foremost Good Fortune is just about as honest a book as you'll ever read.

The Washington Post, Carolyn See

…Conley’s ability to describe her challenges honestly, without self-pity, leads you not only to relate to her, but also to admire her.

Book of the Week, Slate Magazine, Ellen Tarlin

Spring books we’re buzzing about! Novels, memoirs and more for your must-list.

More Magazine, Rebecca Adler Warren

Reflections such as these resonate the most, as do conversations Conley has with her children — however brief or basic — about disease and the possibility of death.

The San Francisco Chronicle, Christina Eng

This book will win prizes all over the world.

The Telegraph, Peter Foster

…Her running account of the profound strangeness of both expat existence and contemporary China is fascinating.

The Boston Globe, Rebecca Steinitz

This book is a unique combination of travel memoir, cancer story, and reflections on motherhood.

Library Thing Interview, Lisa Carey

…Beautifully written and insightful on many levels.

Booklist

…strange, sweet, terrifying, and hilarious... Conley’s focus on her children allows her to make sense of life in a foreign land.

Down East Magazine, Kathleen Meil

“China has proven to be the greatest road trip,” Conley says, “And the thing about road trips is that they absolve you. Force you to give up control. They allow you to gaze out the window for hours at a time and fiddle with the radio dial and free you of most responsibilities except procuring decent snack food. I don't want this one to end.”

The Portland Press Herald, Joan Silverman

Alternately touching and humorous, The Foremost Good Fortune is a wonderful memoir of an ordinary family thrust into extraordinary circumstances.

About.com, Mark Flanagan

The Foremost Good Fortune is… rewardingly perceptive and frank.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Judith Chettle

There’s something irresistible in Conley’s details: her love of dumplings and her need to contemplate life and immortality alongside her family with a flea-market-bought figure of Buddha.

The Post and Courier

Told in bare yet vivid writing… Brutally frank… Far from your typical expat vanity project, The Foremost Good Fortune offers surprising depth and clarity on just what it means to live outside out comfort zones.

The Beijinger, Marilyn Mai

Conley’s quiet optimism and humour saved the day, and her autobiography offers insightful glimpses into contemporary China as she warms towards it, capturing the nuances of Beijing’s colourful people and its ancient language and customs amid the country’s unrelenting drive towards modernity.

Time Out Kong Kong

The Foremost Good Fortune tells a tale of dealing with bureaucracy, the unnerving experience of bringing a family half way around the world… like a beacon of hope.

The Global Times

… Humorous, emotionally up-front, and politically challenging, Conley paints cultural landscapes for others who may not get the chance or choose not to live abroad.

The Library Journal: Memoir Short Takes

…Conley’s lovely memoir powerfully reminds us that we draw our strength from the many little wonders of our everyday lives.

BookPage, Henry L. Carrigan Jr.

…a book of fortitude, of good humor, of a love that is absolute and enduring.

The Oregonian, Debra Gwartney

Indeed, while The Foremost Good Fortune contains moments both heartwarming and heartwrenching, Conley never strays into maudlin territory.

The Portland Phoenix, Deirdre Fulton

… This touching memoir is a study in fortitude and acceptance, an inspiring read with much to say.

The Missourian, Chris Stuckenschneirder

A story of resilience, told with grace and humor, and with Chinese accents.

James Fallows, author of Postcards from Tomorrow Square

A treasure…The unique experience of being yanked out of context by moving to China and diagnosed with breast cancer allows Conley, paradoxically, to explore the most universal of women’s experiences—the meaning of our lives, the meaning of motherhood, the meaning of partnership.

Peggy Orenstein, author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter

Moving and exhilarating…Conley’s keen eye captures small moments in gorgeous detail.

Lily King, author of Father of the Rain

An exquisite memoir that tugs you along with the honest questioning and insightful whispers of a courageous best friend.

Jeanne Marie Laskas, author of Growing Girls

Told with wisdom, grace and wonder by an intrepid traveler who has found her voice in a daunting, exhilarating cultural wilderness.

Michael Paterniti, author of Driving Mr. Albert

Beautifully written…I loved this memoir not only for its humor and humility, but for its gentle weaving of disparate elements—dislocation, illness, motherhood, travel, marriage—into a seamless, irresistible whole.

Monica Wood, author of Any Bitter Thing

…The Foremost Good Fortune delivers the reality of experience—to a refreshingly high degree.

The Nervous Breakdown, Doug Bruns

...a(n) honest, touching and sometimes humorous portrayal of four Americans in China on the eve of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Boston Book Bums, Biblioholic Review

…This memoir is about struggle, determination, and acceptance. More importantly, it is about the will to live. As Conley takes us into her daily life, she allows the reader to feel and face the adversity right along with her. This book is a true treasure.

The Coastal Journal, Penny Harmon

…a book of fortitude, of good humor, of a love that is absolute and enduring.

Powell’s Books Review-a-day, Debra Gwartney