Why We Mahjong
Pre-order your copy now · Available Fall 2026 · $75 USD
This is a special pre-sale price — the price increases to $95 once the book goes to print.
Complimentary shipping on orders over $150. Profits from Why We Mahjong benefit the Rett Syndrome Research Trust.
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More than a game — an invitation.
Mahjong is more than a game. It is an invitation to come to the table, to slow down, to enter a realm where time is no longer counted in minutes but in conversation, laughter, and the pivot of hands and tiles. Here, the inbox goes unanswered. The to-do list waits. Nothing is asked of you but presence.
Why We Mahjong is for every woman who has ever come to the table in need of connection, of escape, of a breath long enough to remember who she is — who sat down carrying the weight of the week and rose, two hours later, somehow lighter, somehow more herself.
With breathtaking photography and writing that moves between the elegant and the deeply felt, this book brings to life the women, gatherings, and luminous moments that unfold around the table — from a first nervous shuffle to the easy confidence that comes after playing for years. A reminder that the most beautiful thing in any room is the people who gather inside it.
Every page, a moment.
Six reasons we mahjong.
A love letter, and an invitation.
Emilie Rabke is the founder of Let's Mahj RVA, a vibrant mahjong community based in Richmond, Virginia.
Her love of the game started from a deeply personal place. As the mother of three young adult children, one of whom lives with Rett Syndrome, a rare neurological genetic disorder, Rabke found herself navigating a season of life where the familiar milestones had passed but the caregiving journey continued. She understood, with quiet clarity, that to sustain this path with grace, she would need something to sustain her.
She turned back to the game her mother had taught her more than thirty years before — never expecting it would become both a reprieve from daily life and a calling. What began as an act of self-care has grown into something far greater: a community built on the belief that the table is a powerful place of connection and belonging.
Why We Mahjong is Emilie's love letter to a game that has given her more than she ever thought to ask for — and her invitation to every woman who has ever needed a place to come back to herself.
Profits from Why We Mahjong benefit the Rett Syndrome Research Trust, the world's leading organization working to cure Rett Syndrome.
A book made to be kept close.
Pull up a chair.
Reserve your copy today and be among the first to hold Why We Mahjong when it arrives this fall.
Buy NowPre-sale pricing ends when the book goes to print — $75 now, $95 after.
Shipping to US residents only. Complimentary shipping on orders over $150.