Perseus Academic: Downriver People by Bea Exner Liu

This is not only a story of the war and its devastation; it is a story of my mother's love affair with the other face of China: its physical splendor, the spirit of its people, and the richness of its culture. — Sally Liu Lane

While cities burn in war-torn China, an American woman finds hope of a democratic future for her husband's country.

Bea Exner Liu (1907 1997) was born and raised in Northfield, Minnesota, and graduated from Carleton College. She moved to China because teaching positions were scarce in the United States during the Depression. The eventuality of a Communist takeover finally brought Liu and her family back to Minnesota. She later published an award-winning children's book and her memoir Remembering China, 1935 1945. Downriver People is Liu's fictionalized account of her memoir.

Bea Exner Liu was born and raised in Northfield, MN, and graduated from Carleton College. Liu moved to China because teaching positions were scarce in the United States during the depression. The eventuality of a Communist take-over finally brought Liu and her family back to Minnesota. Her book for children, Little Wu and the Watermelons, was published in the 1950s and won two awards. Her memoir, Remembering China, was published in 1996. Downriver People is her fictional adaptation of her memoir.

Bill Truesdale, founder of New Rivers Press in 1968, entered into an agreement to publish Downriver People before the press came to Minnesota State University Moorhead. Sadly, both he and Bea Exner Liu died before those plans came to fruition. With the 2011 publication of Downriver People, New Rivers Press is pleased to complete the process begun more than a decade ago, honoring the wishes of Truesdale and Liu.