Reviews & Endorsements
Click image to read in full
Click image to read in full
Click image to read in full
“An important book, and an immense, rich, and magnificent experience”
“...family history, travelogue, healing journey, and exercises in wonderment. An honest and deeply fulfilling story whose images will mesmerize you as its words inspire and nurture you.”
“In this expansive memoir, Alexandra Chan reveals how art and story are limitless sources for inner strength and personal awakening. Her Chinese brush paintings illuminate magical descriptions and remarkable lives. Chan’s art reminds us to imagine and to find connection and beauty all around us.”
“More than just another memoir, this book is good medicine! Chan blends a good bit of wisdom about the power of stoires, the remarkable history of multiple generations of her family, and strands from Chinese mythology to create a rich and vivid tapestry. An astonishing work. Highly recommended for all library collections.”
“On the other side of grief can be wisdom, deep understanding, and rebirth. Chan shows her readers the light, the “Chan magic,” on the flip side of darkness, telling them there is beauty here, there is love, you are never alone. I recommend this book to therapy clients, therapists, friends, and anyone searching for hope amidst darkness.”
Awards
American Book Fest’s Best Book of the Year in Multicultural Nonfiction
and a finalist in Parenting & Family, Self-help, and Spirituality categories.
Winner
Bedside Reading
Named one of Bedside Reading’s Best Books of The Summer 2024, and Winner of Bedside Reading’s Best Book Cover 2024 for Nonfiction based on over 3,000 votes from over 40 countries.
Podcasts, Radio, & in Print
Explore my 6-page Sunday Feature in the South China Morning Post's weekend Post Magazine, published June 2, 2024
CLICK IMAGE TO ACCESS FULL PDF
Season Five Bonus Episode of the Everyday Intuition Podcast with Susan Gorman. October 2024.
CLICK IMAGE TO LISTEN
Episode 474 of Asian America—The Ken Fong Podcast. Alexandra Chan on Loss, Myth, and Magic. May 2024.
CLICK IMAGE TO LISTEN
A Featured Author on Shepherd, sharing my handpicked list of books to read when you are done with In the Garden Behind the Moon.
CLICK IMAGE TO READ ABOUT WHY I PICKED THESE BOOKS AND WHAT I LOVED ABOUT EACH ONE
Portsmouth City Lifestyle Magazine Feature, June 2024
CLICK IMAGE TO READ
Episode 458 of The Thirteenth Hour Podcast with Joshua Blum, May 2024
CLICK IMAGE TO LISTEN
Book Q&A with Deborah Kalb, April 2024
CLICK IMAGE TO LISTEN
The Thought Garden—On Air with Alexis Quintal, Rosarium PR & Marketing Collective, January 2024
CLICK IMAGE TO LISTEN
Click on the image to listen.
Interview on the Colored by Covid: Pandemic Insights Podcast, March 2021
CLICK PLAY TO LISTEN
(Folks, the title is god-awful, but I assure you, the conversation was good) My podcast interview on “Colored by Covid: Pandemic Insights” addresses unseen and misunderstood challenges to the AAPI community—now and historically; the inspiration for my viral post about my family in the wake of the Atlanta spa shootings; what the dominant (white) culture is responsible for right now as well as what AAPI folks can do to help themselves; and what some positive action steps there are that we can take as a society to #StopAsianHate.
Interview on the All In with Pauline Hawkins Podcast, August 19, 2018
CLICK IMAGE TO LISTEN
"Alexandra Chan has an amazing array of accomplishments under her belt with even more on the horizon. Alexandra Chan Photography was awarded the Best Photographer of 2017 and 2018 for the Portsmouth region; she has spoken all over the world about her work in archaeology; and she is currently working on her second book. Alexandra also shares her personal philosophy that is as inspiring as it is beautifully stated. Song selections: 1st song: "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone; 2nd song: "Love is Making its Way Back Home" by Josh Ritter; and 3rd song: "Change" by Tracy Chapman. "
"Meet Alexandra Chan from Alexandra Chan Photography"
What do you do best and what sets you apart?
"One of my specialties is to work with solopreneurs and small businesses to tell a story, evoke a mood, and create a need. I help them build or update their personal brand and to connect more naturally and organically with their clients using eye-popping visuals.
What many people don’t realize is that your photos are telling a story about you and your business whether you intend them to or not. I help my clients figure out what that story should be (if they don’t know already), and then make sure that their pictures really capture and communicate the qualities of their company that make them successful in the first place.
When I am working with families, I am known for the candor and whimsy I am able to capture. People come to me to see themselves and their families in natural action, and they can feel the emotional difference that makes when they see the results. "
What does "success" mean to you?
"To me, success means finding yourself able to take action from a place of integrity and love. If the decisions you make are rooted in those two things, you simply can’t go wrong, and abundance of every kind will follow.
The opposite of love, contrary to what one might expect, is not hate or anger; it’s fear. So if things aren’t working out the way you had hoped in something – be it work, relationships, achieving certain goals, etc., it isn’t necessarily because you’re a bad person, or aren’t working hard enough, or don’t deserve it.
It is probably because you are afraid. 'Of what' is the inner work we all must to do for ourselves. It may be tough, but it is absolutely necessary in order to clear the way for growth."