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Rita Zoey Chin

Biography

Rita Zoey Chin

Rita Zoey Chin is the author of the widely praised memoir LET THE TORNADO COME IN and the novel THE STRANGE INHERITANCE OF LEAH FERN. She holds an MFA from the University of Maryland and is the recipient of a Katherine Anne Porter Prize, an Academy of American Poets Award, and a Bread Loaf waiter scholarship. She has taught at Towson University and currently teaches at Grub Street in Boston, as well as at retreats and conferences near and far. Her writings have also been published by Guernica, Tin House and Marie Claire.

Rita Zoey Chin

Books by Rita Zoey Chin

The Strange Inheritance of Leah Fern
by Rita Zoey Chin - Fiction

Born in a carnival trailer, Leah Fern begins her life as "The Youngest and Very Best Fortuneteller in the World." When Leah is six, her mother --- magician Jeannie Starr --- leaves her at the home of Edward Murphy, a kindly older man with whom Leah shares one fierce wish: that Jeannie Starr will return to them. After 15 years as a small-town outcast, Leah decides to end her life on her 21st birthday. But the intricate death ritual she has devised is interrupted by a surprise knock on her door. Her mysterious neighbor, art photographer Essie East, has died and left Leah a very strange inheritance. Through a series of letters, Essie will posthumously lead Leah on a journey to nine points on the map, which will reveal the story of Leah's mother.

Let the Tornado Come: A Memoir
by Rita Zoey Chin - Memoir, Nonfiction

Rita Zoey Chin survives her harrowing childhood to become a prize-winning writer and the wife of a promising surgeon. But when she is suddenly besieged by terrifying panic attacks, her past trauma threatens her hard-won happiness. Within weeks, she is incapacitated with fear --- literally afraid of her own shadow. Realizing that she is facing a life of psychological imprisonment, Rita undertakes a journey to find help through a variety of treatments.