The Author

Kenneth Ore

I am a Canadian Chinese living in beautiful BC, Canada. I was born and raised mainly in Hong Kong. As a young boy, I survived the Second World War, and regrettably, participated in the Chinese Communist Revolution. The synopsis explains my life well.

The Second World War memories still haunt me. The Japanese soldiers, the bombing runs, death, … my family and I, in hiding. Yet I cannot complain. To a certain extent, my family survived, others were not as fortunate. That was a lifetime ago.

I came to Canada in the 1970’s, with hope and much to do. A few years ago, I began writing my memoirs, many stories. I can hardly believe that I’m using the internet, email, and have my own website. I never could have imagined. I continue to study English and I attend ballet classes for seniors. (I was a ballet dancer when I was a young man.)

My life is a lesson to all. Be careful what you believe. And it is good to step out of what you believe and if it is possible, see.

All that is on my website is my opinion. English is not my first language, please forgive me. I hope to convey my thoughts in a reasonable manner with an ultimate goal that others can learn from my mistakes.

All who helped me also believed the story was worth telling. Living history.

Joann wrote, edited, and translated my ideas, thoughts, pain, into the book. However, as in any publishing endeavor, we were not alone. We had many people help with editing and you know who you are. (Many are listed in the acknowledgements.)

Most of all, we thank Penguin Canada for their editing efforts because they helped us to extend the story, clarify, and ultimately refine the story to what it is now. Thank you to all who helped and believed in this project. We can’t say thank you enough.

Thanks for visiting,
Kenneth

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Explore Song of the Azalea

• Synopsis - book summary
• Reviews
• Table of Contents
• Chapter 1 - read sample chapter
• Listen to Azalea - hear “Song of the Azalea” played with an erhu and piano.
• Song Lyrics - full song lyrics for songs mentioned in the book
• Synopsis in Chinese - book summary in Chinese