After over twenty years as a lawyer in the satellite industry, I have turned to writing and want to start by honouring my mother’s wish to share her childhood stories in A Fine Piece of Jade. I was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Macau and Sydney. Besides my parents and younger brother, we shared our home with my uncle, aunt, and two cousins. We are not real cousins, but we are closer than cousins. My younger “cousin” calls me “ga jie” (older sister in Cantonese). People look puzzled as we have different surnames, and we always need to tell them the story of our mums. Our connection was forged not by the ties of blood but by the bonds of friendship.”