Butterfly Mind

the long version

In this politically astute and revelatory memoir, Patrick Brown weaves together three stories: the first is his 25-year education as a journalist and his parallel struggle with alcoholism; the second, the momentous situations he's found himself in as a reporter; and the third is China, which he first visited during the Tiananmen Square protests. In each chapter, Brown relates both a personal tale from his life and a corresponding aspect of Chinese history. The story starts as Brown describes how he begins to drink heavily under the stress of his first big assignment, tracking the rise of Solidarity in Poland and Lech Walesa, whose struggles he then compares to the idea and aftermath of revolution in China (both similar and shockingly different). From there, Brown reveals how his life in China is both unique and surprisingly familiar - and how his agile "butterfly mind" has allowed him, against expectation, to thrive in the middle of this enormous nation.