Amy Tan

"If you can't change your fate, change your attitude."

"For woman is yin, the darkness within, where untempered passions lie. And man is yang, bright truth lighting our minds."

"I was writing for businesses. I think my mother was a little skeptical in the beginning, but fortunately, as a free-lance writer I was successful almost immediately. And so she was very proud, because…"

"I have always known a thing before it happens."

"Full Biography, Photo Gallery and Online Video of Amy Tan"

"I've long thought about how life is influenced by death, how it influences what you believe in and what you look for. Yes, I think I was pushed in a way to write this book by certain spirits — the yin…"

"My mother had a look on her face that I'll never forget. It was one of complete despair and horror, for losing Bing, for being so foolish as to think she could use faith to change fate."

"On the third day after someone dies, the soul comes back to settle scores. In my mother's case, this would be the first day of the lunar new year. And because it is the new year, all debts must be pai…"