The Book of Secrets: Family, Memory, and the Cost of Silence in Modern China

Mothers’ Bridge of Love is pleased to share an upcoming public talk by acclaimed writer and broadcaster Xinran, whose work has long explored the emotional landscapes of family, memory, and belonging across cultures.

Taking place in Lewes on Saturday 17 January, this talk is based on Xinran’s powerful book The Book of Secrets, and will be followed by a live Q&A session.

In this deeply moving and thought-provoking event, Xinran opens a private archive of letters and diaries entrusted to her over many years. These intimate documents record the inner life of a single family, whose carefully guarded secrets reflect a century of upheaval in modern China. Through these personal testimonies, Xinran traces the journey of a young Communist Party intelligence officer and his wife, beginning with revolutionary idealism and moving through political purges, the Cultural Revolution, and the long aftermath of Tiananmen Square.

Rather than focusing solely on political history, the talk centres on lived experience. Xinran explores how love, loyalty, fear, and silence shape everyday family life under an authoritarian system, and how private choices are often made under extraordinary pressure. The story asks difficult questions: What does loyalty mean when survival is at stake? How does silence protect, and how does it wound? And what is passed down, unspoken, from one generation to the next?

Xinran also reflects candidly on the ethical responsibilities and personal risks involved in telling such stories. As both a listener and a writer, she considers what it means to bear witness for others, and how memory can become a bridge between individuals, families, and cultures.

This event offers a rare opportunity to engage with history through the lens of family and personal testimony, and to reflect on how stories—once hidden—can deepen understanding across borders and generations.

Event Information

Speaker: Xinran
Session Title: The Book of Secrets: A Family’s Story of Love, Loyalty and Betrayal in Modern China
Date: Saturday 17 January
Time: 12:50 – 14:00
Location: Lewes Speakers Festival, All Saints Centre, Friars Walk, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2LE
Format: Talk followed by Q&A

🎟 Click here to book Tickets.