Amy Tan was born in 1952 in Oakland, California. She remained in Northern California until her father and brother tragically died, then she moved with her mother and other brother to Europe. She returned to attend college in the United States. Tan writes in the highly anthologized essay “Mother Tongue” that her teachers discouraged her from pursuing writing and studying literature because they felt she would be more comfortable in math and science. Despite their discouragement, Tan still decided to become a writer. She has degrees in English and Linguistics. She currently lives with her husband in both San Francisco and New York.
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