Adoptee. Childhood Trauma Survivor.
From Decades of Secrecy to
Sharing My Truth
After living under a cloud of secrecy and shame for decades, I finally shared my adoption story in The New York Times and HuffPost.
The response was overwhelming—over three million readers read the HuffPost essay, and messages poured in from people who also lived with secrets and saw themselves in my story.
I write for them. I write for anyone who believes that speaking the truth can change lives—including our own.
My Writing has Appeared in...
For years, I wrote other people’s stories. But there was one story I needed to tell–my own. In this New York Times Tiny Love Stories, I wrote about the birth mother who abandoned me and the adoptive mother who raised me.
**James Patterson "Go Finish Your Book" Grant Recipient**
The Modern Love Podcast - Speaking the Truth Out Loud
After I appeared on The New York Times Modern Love podcast, listeners around the world reached out. They told me my journey as an emotionally and physically abused child mirrored some of their own experiences.
You Are Not Alone
Every message from a reader or listener reminds me that no one carries their pain in isolation. So many have shared their experiences with childhood trauma, dysfunctional parents, and mental health struggles. These shared experiences remind me why I keep writing—to affirm and encourage others.
Abandoned. Adopted. Searching for the Truth.
Abandoned as a newborn in Hong Kong and orphaned for seventeen months, I was adopted by a Chinese American immigrant couple. My mother’s severe mental illness and my father’s violence cast a long shadow over my life.
The discovery of long-hidden adoption documents sparked a search to understand all of my parents—birth and adoptive. In the process, I came to understand what family, identity, and belonging truly mean.