|
Because a camera was a luxury item for most people when I grew up in China, we had very few photographs taken back then. We moved a few times during my childhood and teenage years, so we lost some of our precious photos. The few remaining photos (like the one on the left) are in relatively good condition.
I like this photograph for two reasons. First, my father had a stroke early that year, and we all feared his health would deteriorate, but he recovered. Second, I had just graduated from college but was unhappy with my job. With my parents’ unconditional love and encouragement, I lived through those years with determination and hope.
|
|
Biography
Ever since I was a child, I always liked to read. At age 13, I completed my first full-length screenplay. It was about a teenage girl who committed suicide due to the severe academic pressures, exhausting classes, and endless homework. I never submitted the screenplay, but I did share it with my classmates. When I talked to parents and grandparents today in China, the academic stress on kids has not improved much and, in some cases, it is even worse.
I was a freelance journalist in China and published my works in several major newspapers, including the China Youth Daily, Life Journal, Daily Evening News, and Harbin Daily. I was one of the first journalists to raise public awareness about the AIDS epidemic in 1993—ten years ahead of the Chinese government’s AIDS public education program. By then, millions had been infected with HIV.
I moved to the United States in 1996. From 1996 to 2005, I have been focused on a technical writing and software engineering career. In 2005, I started writing Memories of an Eastern Sky, which is my debut novel.
|
|
|
