Lisa See

Writer

Lisa See is the author of the non-fiction family history On Gold Mountain: The One Hundred Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family and the novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. See, who is one-eighth Chinese, grew up in Los Angeles surrounded by her Chinese-American family. After an early career writing for Publishers Weekly and other magazines, See published her first book, On Gold Mountain, in 1995. The story is a sweeping account of her father's side of the family as it moved from China to southern California. The book was a success, and See followed up with three mystery novels set in China: Flower Net (1997), The Interior (1999) and Dragon Bones (2003). Her fourth novel was the critically acclaimed bestseller Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005), the story of two women in 19th century China who communicate through a secret written language called "nu shu." See, the daughter of novelist Carolyn See, is also active in the cultural affairs of the Los Angeles Chinese-American community.

Extra credit: On Gold Mountain was adapted for the Los Angeles Opera in 2000 with composer Nathan Wang. See wrote a libretto for the production.

Other writers of family memoirs include Alex Haley (Roots) and Tobias Wolff (This Boy's Life).