Flowers of Malaya

A Malay-Chinese and an Anglo-Australian family become one when the grieving and financially struggling Mrs M invites two Chinese boarders from Ipoh, Malaysia, into her home—Fay and Ping Chao. In so doing, Mrs M irrevocably changes the lives of her daughter and two grandsons, Cas, James and Nick, forever. Over the next seven years, the cultural boundaries that initially separated the two families gradually dissolve, replaced by a mutual love and respect for one another and their respective cultures. This heart-warming, three-part memoir can also serve as a guide for future foreign students wishing to enter Australia.