My Three Childhoods takes readers on a journey of Lucy Wu Mainer's riveting, one-of-a-kind experience that included her having to face adult responsibilities at a very young age, complete a challenging education while being torn from home to home, making it to America, facing language and school challenges, and eventually making it to retirement and recapturing the childhood she never had. Lucy says studying hard, working hard, and playing hard, while maintaining a positive attitude, is what helped her survive her harrowing childhood experiences.
"I was born to escape the Japanese invasion of China," Lucy says of her life. She and her family were forced to leave their beloved home and resettle in many cities in China, Vietnam, and Burma, always one step ahead of the atrocities of not one, but two wars. Through a strict upbringing, Lucy reveals her inner sense of justice, fairness and distinguishing right from wrong.
Like a bird, predestined to fly, Lucy yearned for independence. In America, she worked for years at the United Nations, where she met some very influential and famous people. She received an Ed.D in the United States and taught for 30 years in the New York City public school system. She studied painting at the Art Student League in New York City under John Howard Sandon, Mario Cooper, and Edgar Whitney and others. Her paintings were shown at eight solo exhibits throughout New York and Staten Island. Lucy received many awards for her paintings in group exhibits.
In My Three Childhood, Lucy shares the secret ingredient needed to overcome hardship, find passion, and overcome challenges. Retirement permits Lucy to brag about her age, for deep down she has kept a young-at-heart attitude throughout life, never allowing herself to believe that she's "too old" or frail to try anything new.
"This book will open the eyes of the world to the ambition, drive, and courage of international students like Lucy who contribute to America's greatness."
-Virginia Castleman, Author, Sara Lost and Found
Lucy Wu Mainer is the second child of eight children, who grew up in turbulent times. My Three Childhoods is the gripping story of Lucy Wu Mainer's journey from war-torn China to her dream of obtaining an education in the U.S, including the path she took to make it to America. Readers will get a unique perspective of Chinese culture, how, through an unusual matchmaking event her parents met and eventually married, the trials and tribulations of a family that was uprooted again and again surviving not one, but two wars, to Lucy breaking from family and tradition and moving to America to pursue The American Dream. Through courage, hard work, and persistence, Lucy shares her "life, love, and liberation" that transpired throughout this extraordinary era. Throughout the text, Lucy shares the secret to finding passion, exploring new terrains, and discovering one's purpose.
Lucy Wu Mainer, Ed.D currently lives in Northern Nevada and continues to pursue the arts, teaching painting, dancing, as well as traveling to exotic corners of the earth.
