Finding Iris Chang

This account of a bestselling author's suicide is ';part biography, part detective story, part memoir of a thorny but enduring friendship' (Molly Worthen, author of Apostles of Reason). Iris Chang's mysterious suicide in 2004, at age thirty-six, didn't seem to make any sense. She had more to live for than anyone, including fame, fortune, beauty, a husband, and a child. Some even wondered if the controversial New York Times-bestselling author of TheRape of Nankinghad been murdered. Long-time friend Paula Kamen was among those left wondering what had gone so wrong. Seeking to reconcile the suicide with the image of Chang's ';perfect' life, Kamen searched her own memory and scoured Chang's letters, diaries, and archival material to fill in the gaps of Chang's personal transformationfrom awkward teen to homecoming princess in college, from ';ex-shy person' to world-class speaker and international human rights pioneerand her later decline into mental illness and paranoia. A literary investigation of an important writer's journey,Finding Iris Changis a tribute to a lost heroine, a portrait of the real and vulnerable woman who inspired so many around the world. ';Probes the stigma of mental illness in the Asian-American community, Chang's sense of guilt over her son's autism, her veneer of perfection and the deterioration of her mental state.' Publishers Weekly ';A rewardingly complex portrait of a driven and troubled woman.' Kirkus Reviews