{"product_id":"9781460766576_cheng-lei-the-extraordinary-memoir-of-surviving-chinas-secret-prisons-for-readers-of-kylie-moore-gilbert-peter-greste-and-sean-turnell","title":"Cheng Lei: The extraordinary memoir of surviving China's secret prisons for readers of Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Peter Greste, and Sean Turnell","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe extraordinary true story of journalist Cheng Lei whose life was abruptly transformed when she was detained in China on false charges of espionage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eJournalist Cheng Lei spent more than three gruelling years in a Beijing prison after being wrongly accused of espionage. Harrowing, fierce and often darkly humorous, her memoir is about the power of the human spirit; bravery in the face of cruelty and pettiness; the consolations of letters, music and books; and how unexpected friendships and the love of family can unlock the courage we all have within us to prevail.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn August 2020, Cheng Lei was the precise and polished anchor of China's government-run, English-language \u003cem style=\"font-size: 1em; letter-spacing: 0em;\"\u003eGlobal Business\u003c\/em\u003e TV show, familiar to millions of viewers. A veteran business journalist, the Chinese-born Australian mother of two young children was at the pinnacle of her career when eight words texted to a friend led to devastating consequences.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArriving for work one morning, Lei was met by officers from the notorious Ministry of State Security. After searching her apartment, they blindfolded her and drove her to a secret location. Detained, isolated and interrogated, she was cut off from all contact with her family and friends. She simply disappeared from TV screens, her flat, her life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLei was eventually coerced into agreeing to a five-year prison term in a country she loved but no longer recognised. On the outside, her story triggered a desperate fight for her release, a diplomatic row and global news. On the inside, her own struggle for freedom and her sanity in the face of the inconceivable had just begun.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt would be ten months before Lei saw her lawyer, a year and a half before a 90-minute show trial, more than two years before she would briefly hear the voices of her children, and three years and two months before she saw the entirety of the sky again - after her release was secured and she made it home to Australia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem style=\"font-size: 1em; letter-spacing: 0em;\"\u003eIt's only through losing freedom that we learn to truly appreciate it. When our canvas is bare we celebrate one drop of colour. \u003c\/em\u003eCheng Lei, TED2025\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cheng Lei","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46899377307797,"sku":"9781460766576","price":35.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9781460766576_3f17b292-a91d-4639-867c-5dfddf6e5c0c.jpg?v=1776888363","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9781460766576_cheng-lei-the-extraordinary-memoir-of-surviving-chinas-secret-prisons-for-readers-of-kylie-moore-gilbert-peter-greste-and-sean-turnell","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}