I had new thoughts, willful thoughts, or rather thoughts filled with lots of won'ts. I won't let her change… — Amy Tan

I saw what I had been fighting for: it was for me, a scared child...

I remember wondering why it was that eating something good could make me feel so terrible, while vomiting something terrible could make me feel so good.

My father has asked me to be the fourth corner at the Joy Luck Club. I am to replace my mother, whose seat at the mah jong table has been empty since she died two months ago. My father thinks she was killed by her own thoughts.