Disoriented: Two Strange Years in China as Unexpected Expats

Howard and Ellen Goodman were just turning 60 when Howard was laid off from his job as a newspaper editor during the Great Recession. Jobless in a dying industry in the U.S., the couple grabbed the chance at a new life when opportunity in Shanghai arose out of the blue. Both a travelogue and a cultural critique, “Disoriented” tells the couple’s story, from dazed arrival in a new land to Howard's experiences as an editor under state-controlled media and Ellen's teaching English to the children of China's new elites. Ultimately, the pair developed a surprise romance with a staggering country that few Americans really know. In this highly readable book, the Goodmans draw the reader into their worlds as they become oriented to life in a place so different from the one they left in the States. What results in their sweet and warm portrayal of life as ex-pats in Shanghai and Hong Kong is a love story, a portrait of transformation, and an appreciation of what they left at home.