A Single Tear: A Family's Persecution, Love, and Endurance in Communist China by Ningkun Wu; Yikai Li (Very good, 1993, Pbk, 367 pgs, Back Bay Book)

Cover and pages have light wear; pages are unmarked. ISBN 0316956392

A Single Tear: A Family's Persecution, Love, and Endurance in Communist China is a 1993 memoir by Wu Ningkun, with collaboration from his wife Li Yikai, detailing the author’s 30 years of persecution under Maoist rule.  Wu, an American-educated professor, returned to China in 1951 to help build the new nation but was soon labeled an "ultrarightist" and "class enemy" for his Western teaching methods. 

The narrative chronicles the family's suffering through the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, marked by imprisonment in labor camps, starvation, forced hard labor, and periodic separation. Despite these hardships, the memoir highlights their resilience, noting that Wu was ultimately rehabilitated in 1979 and the family later moved to the United States. 

Key aspects of the book include:

• Historical Testimony: It provides a firsthand account of the destruction of intellectuals and the brutality of the Communist regime from the 1950s to the 1980s.
• Family Endurance: Li Yikai’s perspective is included in several chapters, illustrating how she managed to keep their children and family unit intact while Wu was imprisoned.
• Survival and Reflection: Wu wrote the book to answer the question, "Have I suffered and survived in vain?", using literature and love for his family to maintain his humanity and sanity during imprisonment