Proverbs

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(Please add a picture to your proverb; remember “A picture is worth a thousand words”)


  1. Friederike says:

    I am reading the book ‘Falling Leaves’. It’s just the short version from
    Penguin Readers. It’s a school project. I’m the only one in my class who read it, the other read other books. Oh, I have to say: I am German.
    The book is fantastic. I’m still reading, because I can’t put it away to do other things. Later, i will read the original.

    Thank you. :)

  2. Praise the bridge that carried you over.
    –George Colman

  3. Sas says:

    The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.

  4. eloisa palacios says:

    Dear Adeline:

    My name is Eloisa Palacios (“Elo”), I`m 26 years old and I`m writing you from Sonora state, Mexico :) , I just finished reading your book “Falling Leaves” (“Las Hojas Que Caen” in spanish). I dont know if saying that I loved is the right word considering is a book full of struggles in life, but I can really say that it touched my life. My life has been full of struggles in my family. My older brother and sister used to be drugaddicts, my dad worked out of my city, my mom was on her own with me and my little sis. We went through a horrible nightmare for like 20 years with my brother and sister. I`m tempted to write a mexican version of your book hahahaha j/k….Well, things are getting better now, my dad finally lives with us, my big sister is not on drugs anymore (when she discovered she was going to have a baby, she quit drugs, she has been cleaned for 2 years). My brother is in prison for a crime he didnt committ but he will be free in august, we won the case and he is not using drugs anymore. I`m telling you everything in a nutshell. My point is that my struggles might look different than yours but I could totally relate to all the stuff you went through, I could feel your pain and your book made me thing what life is all about. I used to think “why are these things happening to me??”. We all struggle in life, some people more than others, but there is always hope (I`m a Christian), if we dont give up and we stay strong we can win the battles. I dont have words to say everything your book made me feel but it is amazing and dear Adeline, everything happens for a reason, we dont make sense in the moment, but everything that happens, good or bad, the Lord uses it for our own good.

    I dont know you but I already feel like I love you as a good friend :)
    Greeting from Mexico
    Eloisa (Elo)

  5. Sheenie Lee says:

    Dear Adeline,
    you may or may not recieve this note, but I really hope this will reach to you. I have just finished your Chinese Cinderella novel. My stepmother despite me and neglected me too. I share your pain and fear; however, my parents are still alive, and I get very little support from them. I am 19 years old and I’m living by myself right now. It is very hard; after reading your book, it really motivates me to continue school and strive for a better future. I hope I can become like you one day. -Sheenie

  6. Fatin Hanafi says:

    Dear Adeline,

    I just bought your book about the Chinese Cinderella three days ago and just finished reading it this morning. I couldn’t stop reading your book ever since i start. Your story reminds me how my mother had gone through when she was young and lived with her step-mother back in the days. I too did go through what you had such as being rejected by family members and longed to be accepted. I guess we all suffer pains in various of ways.

    Thanks to your book,i am motivated to study hard to achieve my ambition and make my parents and myself proud.

    Thank you Adeline Yen Mah :)

  7. olivia says:

    Dear Adeline,
    I read ur chinese cinderella book.. it was amzing.. it made me cry.. i love it..
    live is a bittersweet flavour

  8. leeoz says:

    Dear Adeline,
    I am fasinated on the books you write!!!I have only read Chinease Cinderella and I really want to read Falling Leaves!!

    please reply,
    leeoz

  9. Parier Rugby says:

    Merci pour l’information :)

  10. NSY says:

    I love your books! I hope you can continue and write more books! Persevere! :D

  11. top shoes says:

    I wanted to thank you for this great read I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post.

  12. Tan hui joo says:

    I felt touched after reading this story. Chinese Cinderella. It touches my Heart and let me know that god is always with us. To me and my husband lim yik yong is very happy after reading. We also Learnt many things.
    Love
    hui joo and yik yong

  13. Alistair Andersen says:

    Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

    Why do I care about an abusive childhood that happened a long time ago, in a different country, culture and to someone I have never met? Why does humanity possess this finely tuned sensitivity to injustice; why does it resonate so profoundly within the heart? As a middle aged male teacher, I have read ‘Chinese Cinderella’ many times to my students and there are three sections of the book where I invariably choke with emotion. Niang was evil and this is not a term I use lightly. Lacking nothing materially, she sabotaged, envied and destroyed love at every opportunity; she even attempted to destroy from beyond the grave. The battle of this little girl’s life mirrored and far surpassed the fictional kung fu novels she treasured.

  14. Tanya says:

    “Difference between school and life,
    In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test.
    In life you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.”

    “When the student is ready, the teacher will come.”

    LOVED the book “Falling Leaves!”

    • phoebe says:

      i like that proverb cause it actually tells u to contiue learning and i love the book called chinese cinderella about a unwanted GIRL. IT really touch my heart and it made me feel as if i’m a very lucky girl.

  15. Flare says:

    I’ve read your books and felt compelled to do a biography of you in my english class. Your story inspired me to look positively at life and take the negative experiences in my life and make them be my strength. I have also had a sad childhood (not as bad as yours but quite bad) and it has made me weary of people who show their emotions freely. I have grown to mistrust even the slightest bit of happiness I have felt because I know that my happiness will always go away. But when I read your story; I finally felt that I could go on and take whatever happiness I can find and enjoy it while it lasts and not wait for it to leave just like everything else. And I have you to thank for this turn in my life.

  16. Nadiah says:

    I loved your book Chinese cindrella. I am so sad you had a painful childhood. I am happy that i don’t have a mother like your niang.

    ….Nadiah

  17. Jodie says:

    Don’t you believe that flowers are beautiful? They are all unique in there own way. I think flowers are like us. A sun flower grows tall to catch as much light as it can. The sunflowers’ seeds are blown away far away from that daffodil to give them the possibility to grow tall and catch as much sunlight as possible. All though they will be far away from the daffodil they originate from, they will always grow to be daffodils. Although we may leave our parents, to become the best person we will always know who we are and we can never forget that. This is similar to “Even if a tree should grow to a height of ten thousand feet,

    Its leaves, when falling, will still return to their root.” Just longer and i just wanted to write this inspired to this proverb. Adeline, your my role model.

  18. Anna Petrakis says:

    Forgiveness is almost a selfish act because of its immense benefits to the one who forgives.

    Based on the bible verse: Romans 5:8 – God demonstrates his own love for us in this: WHILE we were STILL SINNERS, CHRSIT DIED FOR US!

    What a wonderful example to follow – to forgive others the way that Christ has forgiven us.

  19. Imee Cruz-Maghirang says:

    When somebody closes a door on you, God will open the window. God will make a way when there seems to be no way.

  20. xlw says:

    永志不忘
    yǒng zhì bù wàng
    something being in one’s memory forever

  21. loopyloo says:

    have u written a siguel to Chinese Cinderella
    the book was great i loved it and im sorry that you had such a bad childhood

  22. Tania says:

    Indonesian:
    Semakin berisi, semakin merunduk.
    Literally: The more you’re filled, the more you bow.
    Means: The more you get smarter, wealthier etc, the more you will be kind and not arrogant.

  23. Review Guide says:

    That rss feature on your website here is impressive, you should tell people about it in your upcoming post. I haven’t noticed it for the first couple of times, now I’m using it each morning to check on any updates. I’m on a really slow dial-up link in Alabama and it’s rather hindering to sit there and wait for such a long time ’til the page loads… but hey, I just found your rss page and added it to the Google Reader and voil? – I’m always up-to-date! Well buddy, keep up the good work and make that rss button a little bigger so that other people can enjoy that as well :-P

  24. Mulch Newark says:

    oh cool, this information is really useful and definately is comment worthy! hehe. I’ll see if I can try to use some of this information for my own blog. Thanks!

  25. what you see says:

    what is said is not of word but of what is send through eyes

  26. Caroline says:

    Faith is taking the first step, even if you don’t see the whole staircase.

  27. Anne Wagner says:

    The heart is what matters the most of all.

    A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

    Believe in yourself and believe in love. Love something. We’ve got to learn to love something deeply.

    As long as I still adore and love what I have to do, I feel safe.

    Give more than you expect to receive.

    There is something in the heart of the people, and in my heart, which is tangible, which cannot be communicated across great distances.

    You can have your grandchildren for a day, and then you can give it back at the and of the day and you can go and pour yourself a drink.

    Be yourself, love yourself and give that love to the world.

  28. Kristine Chan says:

    FILIPINO PROVERBS: (Salawikain)

    Damitan mo man ang matsing, matsing pa rin.
    -A monkey dressed up is still a monkey.

    Habang maikli ang kumot, matutong mamaluktot.
    -Literally “While the blanket is short, learn to curl up (to fit)”
    -Refers to situations when resources are scarce, one should learn to be thrift and adapt.

    Kung nasaan ang asukal, naruon ang langgam.
    -Wherever you find sugar, you’ll find ants.

    Kung sino ang masalita ay siyang kulang sa gawa.
    -He who speaks too much works too little.

    Kung may tiyaga, may nilaga.
    -(literally) If you persevere, you’ll have stew.
    If you don’t persevere, you can expect no reward.
    -Interpretation : He who works, gets compensated.

    Madali ang maging tao, mahirap magpakatao.
    -It is easy to be human. It is hard to be humane.

    Walang ligaya sa lupa na hindi dinilig ng luha.
    -There is no earthly bliss not watered by tears.

    Walang mapait na tutong, sa taong nagugutom.
    -There is no bitter (rice)crust to a hungry person.
    Walang matigas na tinapay sa mainit na kape.
    No bread is too hard for warm coffee.

  29. Mary says:

    True love never grows old

  30. Mary says:

    People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime

  31. 天無絕人之路 (tiān wú jué rén zhī lù)

    “Heaven never leaves a man with no way out”
    1262961630-Paralympics.jpg

  32. Lane says:

    “We think a flower on a cliff is beautiful because we stop our feet at the cliff’s edge, unable to step out into the sky like that fearless flower.” Tie Kubo

  33. Melody says:

    樹慾靜而風不止、子慾養而親不在○

    Dear Melody,

    樹 高 千 丈, 落 葉 歸 根.

    Adeline

  34. dalina thach says:

    Children have wings and teachers help them FLY!!

  35. dreams says:

    Life is beauty- if we persist to clutch our dreams tight.And achieve.

  36. KenZ Kuraihashi says:

    We should know when to cry but it has to be a limit…

    We should know when to laugh and it has to be long lasting…

    Crying_and_laughing_masks_by_kiro_the_joker.jpg

  37. KenZ Kuraihashi says:

    We can cry if we lose something so precious to us…

    we should also smile and say goodbye to those which are precious…

    goodbye.gif

  38. maria says:

    you have only got one life to live.
    so go on and make the best of it!
    before it’s to late.
    1257596906-meyolo.jpg

  39. maria says:

    you have only got one life to live.
    so go on and make the best of it!
    before it’s to late.

    1257596675-i sw9ut[we4tvut94tvr3wrqwerweg.jpg

  40. Shelly says:

    Fail to prepare prepare to fail
    Charles Nickels
    6a00d83451b88369e200e54f13bad18833-800wi.gif

  41. Ron Williamson says:

    Don’t let what you can’t do well, stop you from doing what you can do well. John Wooden
    wooden.jpg

  42. larry says:

    Teachers open the door but you must walk through it yourself
    1256844884-open-door-field.jpg

  43. Daniel says:

    the risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the pain of indicision
    ist2_2098349-indecision.jpg

  44. adeline says:

    Even if a tree should grow to a height of ten thousand feet,

    Its leaves, when falling, will still return to their root.

    樹 高 千 丈, 落 葉 歸 根

    shu gao qian zhang, luo ye gui gen
    1256850182-tall-tree.jpg

  45. Al Mar says:

    “Life is simpler when you plow around the stump” Stump_MC_.jpg

  46. Paul R. Prentice says:

    Impression without expression leads to depression depression.jpg

  47. Steve Moore says:

    It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.
    Mahatma Gandhi
    mahatma-gandhi.jpg

  48. Ann says:

    To eat well is to live well.
    theHappyEater.jpg

  49. Deede Both says:

    You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink horse-drinking-water-from-pond.jpg

  50. Matt says:

    A winner credits good luck for winning, even though it isn’t luck. A loser blames bad luck for losing even though it isn’t luck.
    winner.jpg

  51. Jeannette Dobbyn says:

    Money grows on the tree of patience.

    money_tree.jpg

  52. Shawna says:

    You can’t appreciate the love of your parents without having children of your own.

    love is not what makes the world go round, it’s what makes the journey worthwhile..

  53. Laurie Swenson says:

    “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you , and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn” John Muir

  54. Holly says:

    People in glass houses should live in the basement(based on “people in glass houses should not throw stones”)

  55. emily williams says:

    without fear, there is no courage

  56. Charlotte says:

    A stich in time, saves 9!!!

  57. Courtney says:

    Life is a roller coaster, so hold on tight!

  58. laura bullimore says:

    take a step away from a big thing is it big?

  59. larry mar says:

    Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow
    1253659620-untitled.JPG

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