Episode 87: Love and Loss in China - A Hoosier Author's Debut
Guest: Anna Keibler, Author - A Ghost in the Middle Kingdom
Welcome to the HoosLeft Podcast, a show about Indiana politics, history, and culture from an unapologetically leftist perspective. My name is Scott Aaron Rogers, and I’m recording from Bloomington.
Earlier this year, I spoke with Sarah Baurle-Danzman, a political scientist and associate professor at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University - Bloomington. In that interview, we talked about things like the shifting US–China relationship and its impact on everyday Hoosiers, the economic interdependence between the two countries, globalization, supply chains, trade, diplomacy, data privacy, and national security. It was an informative and enlightening conversation, and if you missed it the first time, it’s always available in the HoosLeft archive.
But that discussion was very academic and distant, in a way. Today’s guest has a much more intimate and personal story to tell about China and her time there. From her official biography:
Anna Keibler is a disabled, neurodivergent, LGBTQ+ professional technical writer, youth worker, and traveler with a fervent passion for languages, art, and wildlife. As a nature lover with a master's in natural resources, she has a passion for the ecological conservation of both the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and the Hoosier National Forest.
Originally hailing from rural Indiana, Anna learned Mandarin while living and working in China for more than five years.
Her debut book, released just this week by Black Rose Writing, is a memoir titled A Ghost in the Middle Kingdom.
Amid the mountains of China, Anna falls in love with a Hui yak herder from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. At first, he appears to be a kindred soul and charismatic lover. But with treachery, traps, and fraud at every turn, their passionate romance is doomed from the start. […]
This engrossing memoir delves into the perils of abuse, deceit, infatuation, and misplaced trust while simultaneously illuminating the beauty of China's landscape, hospitality, and culture. With electrifying twists as the author confronts an impossible choice on her world travels, A Ghost in the Middle Kingdom is a true tale of love and loss like you've never heard before.
We’ll talk about the book and what it’s like in China for average people there — from the rural areas to the thriving metropolises, standards of living, infrastructure, personal freedom, and interacting with the government. We’ll also preview Anna’s forthcoming books and discuss her inspiration to begin writing.
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Now, here is my conversation with Anna Keibler.
Things We Talked About:
Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities: https://academy.bsu.edu/
Guilin: https://www.britannica.com/place/Guilin
Petty Corruption in China: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/xi-targets-petty-corruption-on-a-giant-scale-to-soothe-china-s-masses/ar-AA1BqixA
Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: https://www.chinahighlights.com/tibet/the-qinghai-tibet-plateau.htm
Hui Minority: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hui_people
Dissemination of False Information: https://www.techi.com/spreading-fake-stories-online-is-now-a-major-crime-in-china/
China Has Its Own Type of Capitalism: https://www.promarket.org/2019/09/25/with-the-us-and-china-two-types-of-capitalism-are-competing-with-each-other/
Why Drivers Intentionally Kill Pedestrians in China: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/09/why-drivers-in-china-intentionally-kill-the-pedestrians-they-hit-chinas-laws-have-encouraged-the-hit-to-kill-phenomenon.html
Housing & Real Estate US vs. China: https://www.polarislane.com/buy/guide-to-real-estate/real-estate-differences-between-china-and-the-usa/
Kang Bed/Stove: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kang_bed-stove
History of China-Russia Tensions in Xinjiang: https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/a-most-rebellious-territory/
Ethnic Tensions and Pressure to Assimilate: https://chinapower.csis.org/analysis/why-minorities-make-beijing-nervous/
Qinghai Province: https://chinafolio.com/provinces/qinghai-province/
The Great Firewall: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Great-Firewall
The Imprisonment of Bo Xilai: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-18/xi-jinping-and-his-former-rival-bo-xilai/101530964
Corruption Leading to Bridge Collapses: https://news.wfsu.org/2012-08-30/chinese-blame-failing-bridges-on-corruption
Criminalizing Drunk-Driving in China: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/18/china-drink-driving-law-toned-down
Crosswalks Only Recently Enforced in China: https://www.chinaeducationaltours.com/guide/article-how-to-cross-street-in-china.htm
Did China Really ‘Eliminate Poverty?’ https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-11-27/china-2020-poverty-eradication-dream
China’s Nouveau Riche: https://www.today.com/money/china-has-word-its-crass-new-rich-2d11603365
Private English-language centers have come under fire: https://premiertefl.com/blog/china-ban-private-esl-tutoring/
The Monkey King Myth: https://mythopedia.com/topics/sun-wukong/
Monkey King Video Game: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Myth:_Wukong
Librarians at the Center of the Culture Wars: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/shows/houston-matters/2025/04/29/520028/libraries-have-been-in-the-crosshairs-of-culture-wars-throughout-history/
Once again, that was Anna Keibler, Hoosier author, whose debut memoir, A Ghost in the Middle Kingdom is available NOW from Black Rose Writing wherever you get books. Order a copy today.
Hopefully you enjoyed this break from the news, but I’ll being talking about that again come Sunday morning with HoosLeft This Week, streaming live at 10:30 am ET on the Project Next Media network - YouTube, FaceBook Live, and Twitch - links in the show notes. It’s a lot of fun if you haven’t had a chance to check us out yet. I bring together panelists from the democratic socialist left to never-Trump conservatives and we look at the week’s headlines from around Indiana and beyond. We’ll also dive into one big topic and throw in a few jokes for good measure. Hope to see you there in the comments, but if you can’t make it live, it’ll be available as a podcast Sunday afternoon.
Thanks again to Anna for sharing her story and thank you for listening. One last time, please consider a paid subscription at HoosLeft.US, where you’ll find everything I’ve ever published. I rely solely on the generosity of kind patrons like you to make this information available for free to everybody. In addition to the website, you can also find me on Facebook, Bluesky, YouTube and TikTok at HoosLeft or on most other social media sites at ScottRog78, where you can hit me up with feedback, tips, ideas, and concerns. Finally, please forward the show to a friend and have them pass it on. Let’s keep building this project - and a truly democratic state - one conversation at a time. Until the next one, this has been the HoosLeft podcast. I’m Scott Aaron Rogers. Love each other, Indiana.
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