Running on Rooftops

Anne Henry knows next to nothing about China. She knows even less about teaching. But the commitment seems minimal: one year tutoring in a Yinchuan English school. As Anne seeks to make sense of her new life across the Pacific, with clashing worldviews and blended cultures, she finds herself building relationships as varied as the landscapes around her. From the dunes of the Gobi Desert, up the glacial vastness of Mount Everest, through the winding streets of the City of Eternal Spring, and through the tropical waters of Thailand, Anne’ s curiosity pushes the boundaries of her comfort zone. Will she be prepared for the headlong jump into the unknown? This is the story of colliding paths, of false steps, and ensuing scars.

Vivien was born in Italy and has a BA and MA in languages from the University of Bari. She then moved on to pursue a PhD in cultural history at the University of Glasgow, and also completed several fellowships between Edinburgh, Glasgow and London’ s Warburg Institute. She is now a freelance translator, yoga instructor, and most of all an editor at Blackwater Press. Andrea L. Stout is an American writer and university lecturer in literature, writing, and all things storytelling. She has been traveling and working outside of the U.S. for more than two decades, and her writings and literary research topics reflect these themes of foreignness, identity, and place. Outside of the U.S., she has lived in Asia, Europe, and North Africa.