Inthis powerful, touching memoir of a critically acclaimed Chinese-Americanwriter, taste becomes the keeper of memory and food the keeper of culture whenNai-nai, her extraordinary grandmother, arrives from mainland China. LeslieLi'â„¢s paternal grandfather, Li Zogren, was China'â„¢s first democratically electedvice president, to whom Chiang Kai-shek left control of the country when hefled to Formosa in 1949. Nine years later, Li'â„¢s wife, Nai-nai, comes to livewith her son'â„¢s family in New York City, bringing a whole new world of sights,smells, and tastes as she quickly takes control of the kitchen. Nai-nai'â„¢stantalizingly exotic cooking opens up the heart and mind of her Americangranddaughter to her Chinese heritage'and to the world. Through her grandmother'â„¢straditional cuisine Leslie bridges the cultural divide in an America in whichshe is a minority'as well as the growing gap at home between her rigid,traditional Chinese father and her progressive American-born mother.Interspersed throughout her intimate and moving memoir are the author'â„¢spersonal recipes, most from Nai-nai'â„¢s kitchen, that add a delicious dimensionto the work. A loving ode to family and food, Daughter of Heaven is an exquisite blend of memory, history, andthe senses.