36 STEPS: A Memoir

Adults often say their world is too complicated for children to understand. Shirong Wang isn’t sure if this is entirely true; not only are kids more keen than people realize, their emotions are also more intact than those of adults, who often make things more confusing than they have to be. During the first few years of the Cultural Revolution, Wang struggled to keep his footing after his family was caught in the whirlwind of “class struggle.” Friends changed, classmates grew distant, and his neighborhood was painted more brightly-red than ever before. Only an all-powerful god or deity could restore his family, his neighborhood, into what once was, but things don’t always turn out the way we want them to. Now an “adult,” Wang picks up the pen to grasp at the answers he desperately sought as a child when his family was slowly picked apart. What began as a series of anecdotes to commemorate his parents quickly spiraled out of control. Scenes from his childhood sprouted in his head like a never-ending movie, finally pausing at the memory of his mother, asking for a hug the day before ending her life.