Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops

A Memoir

By: Allison Hong Merrill

Narrated by: Kathleen Li

Allison Hong is not your typical 15-year-old Taiwanese girl. Unwilling to bend to the conditioning of her Chinese culture, which demands that women submit to men’s will, she disobeys her father’s demand to stay in their faith tradition, Buddhism, and instead joins the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then, six years later, she drops out of college to serve a mission—a decision for which her father disowns her.

After serving her mission in Taiwan, 22-year-old Allison marries her Chinese-speaking American boyfriend, Cameron Chastain. But 16 months later, Allison returns home to their Texas apartment and is shocked to discover that, in her two-hour absence, Cameron has taken all the money, moved out, and filed for divorce. Desperate for love and acceptance, Allison moves to Utah and enlists in an imaginary, unforgiving dating war against the bachelorettes at Brigham Young University, where the rules don’t make sense—and winning isn’t what she thought it would be.

©2021 She Writes Press (P)2022 Allison Hong Merrill

"Captivating Storytelling, great memoir"

Allison Merrill's 'Ninety Nine Fire Hoops' is a remarkable memoir that embodies the essence of challenges and resilience. Through her captivating storytelling, Merrill takes readers on a deeply personal journey, sharing her experiences of overcoming life's most formidable fire hoops. Her insights and reflections offer invaluable life lessons that inspire readers to persevere through their own challenges, reinforcing the idea that giving up is never an option.

Heart-wrenching and inspiring

Great narration takes you deep into a powerful and inspiring memoir. I highly recommend it!

A Must-read Memoir in the Vein of Educated

This memoir is jaw-dropping.

Merrill faced so much adversity in her turbulent childhood and as an immigrant bride but what really stands out is her faith filled perspective and her personal growth as a woman of worth. It makes getting through some of the tough descriptions worth it. This is a thought provoking, feeling stirring type of read. Beware that it does contain some strong language (as quoted by certain people to illustrate a point) but overall this is definitely one I would recommend to those who like uplifting, inspirational, real-life stories. It reads similar to Educated by Tara Westover but is a different look at LDS culture, the American Dream, and subverting expectations.

Emotional

I was hooked from the first sentence. I had to know the story behind this situation. How did she end up abandoned and left with nothing? From then on one thing led to another written skillfully keeping the reader/listener intrigued and pushing on through even the parts that are difficult to comprehend. Sometimes I agonized as I thought things would never be right for Allison. This was a book that was hard to read/listen to, but enlightening. I was disappointed to find her converting to Mormonism. I strongly disagree with many of their tenets and actions. It made the book even more difficult for me to read. It made me sad.

The narration was well done. The performance made me feel as though I were listening to Allison herself tell the story of her life. Skillfully done!

I requested this audiobook from the narrator and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

Engaging story, pitch-perfect narration

An in-depth look at one woman's trial-filled journey from a tough upbringing in Taiwan, to what often seems like an even tougher situation immigrating to the U.S. via marriage to an immature man who, initially, represents the woman's chosen faith path in life.

Although the Taiwanese settings, customs, and overall cultural milieu may seem foreign to many a Western listener, the relatability of the tale should keep you engaged. If you're interested in learning how to understand and navigate certain foundational East-West cultural differences, this memoir is a great way to see some of the challenges in action.

Kathleen Li's narration really captures the spirit of the story. Very impressive!

Honest and brave

You’ll laugh, cry, and get angry right along side Allison as she tells her story. Hearing what she went through and how she came through on the other side still smiling is more than motivational, it inspires hope in a world that has lost so much of that. Her raw honesty when telling of moments in her life that she’s less than proud of are relatable and endearing. This is definitely worth a read (or listen). There’s a good reason this book has won the awards it has.

*The narrator was hard to get used to, I found increasing the speed really helped. Don’t give up! It’s beautifully done once you fully sync with the voice.

Story was moving. The narrator was perfect!

A story of hope, reliance and triumph. The author took you through all of her emotions so beautifully. In the hundreds of books I’ve read, I typically don’t look over the acknowledgments. I am so glad I did for this book. It was an extension or epilogue of the story. And knowing the author, I found it cute and funny.

The narrator genuinely connected with the character and the story. I read actual books and listen to audio books. This is one I’m so glad I had on audio, it really brought the story alive.

Inspiring and beautiful

don’t often read memoirs so I had to take a cooling off period between finishing the book and writing a review to really capture my thoughts.

This is the story of the earlier years of Allison Hong Merrill - from her childhood in Taiwan, joining the church to moving to the US with her disappointment of a first huband, subsequent divorce and building a new life for herself from the ground up.


The tone of this book was something I really enjoyed, the author acknowledges that she’s been treated poorly by some important figures in her past but rather than write about blame, she tells the story of how she overcame the hardships and found her place in life, making it a story of hope and triumph.


I also enjoyed seeing through the eyes of an immigrant to the US - I’m from the UK myself so it adds an extra dimension to see one different culture through the lens of yet another. The language and cultural barriers are enormous, I can’t imagine finding the courage to navigate such a huge change. 


Kathleen Li is the perfect narrator for this book, she made me feel like a friend was telling me the story of her own life - I cringed as she read about making the mistakes of a 20yo (been there, done that!), had my heart broken as things went downhill, then cheered as she learned from her mistakes and found her confidence.

Though it doesn’t necessarily start out that way, this is an uplifting story and I recommend it to anyone needing some feelgoods and inspiration about what can be overcome. 

Very personal portrayal of a life with trials and overcame.

Exposure to Taiwan culture, good man gone bad, overcame adversity. Found it very interesting and compelling.

Young Taiwanese cruel beginnings

I picked this up after seeing an appeal on GoodReads seeking audible readers to review this Memoir. Briefly, the author attempts to change her cultural teachings after being abused and betrayed by virtually everyone in her life.

Basically, she entered the United States without being able to read or write English, and was dependent on the man (a stranger) she agreed to marry, she thinks. She doesn't communicate well with him either. Given her cultural background, she would not be accepted back by her birth family if she had the means.

The story audibly is long. It feels repetitive. Every problem she faces, she remembers her father's teaching, and goes on to make bad decisions. I made it to about 70% and stopped. It felt like the neverending story.

With respect, the author was born into a society where her life is not uncommon. Cruel is an understatement. If you have never read the life of a Taiwanese woman this is a good place to start. By sharing her story, standards and education will increase awareness.

The narration is okay. I do believe from a performance standard a slight Taiwanese accent would have gone a long way.