avg_rating: 4.22
name: Veronica Li
about: I'm the author of two books: Journey Across the Four Seas and Nightfall in Mogadishu. I write to understand the puzzles of my life, and it has turned out that what puzzles me puzzles other people as well.My biggest puzzle was my mother. Like a dutiful Chinese daughter, I took my ailing parents into my home. My father was quirky as usual, no puzzle there, but my beautiful, saintly mother astonished me with her devilish behavior. I wondered who this stranger was. Fortunately, she loved to tell stories about her life. So I sat her down and recorded her stories. A fascinating tale unfolded. I can now say I understand my mother and love her for who she was. The title of the book, Journey Across the Four Seas, is the journey she took to bring her I'm the author of two books: Journey Across the Four Seas and Nightfall in Mogadishu. I write to understand the puzzles of my life, and it has turned out that what puzzles me puzzles other people as well.My biggest puzzle was my mother. Like a dutiful Chinese daughter, I took my ailing parents into my home. My father was quirky as usual, no puzzle there, but my beautiful, saintly mother astonished me with her devilish behavior. I wondered who this stranger was. Fortunately, she loved to tell stories about her life. So I sat her down and recorded her stories. A fascinating tale unfolded. I can now say I understand my mother and love her for who she was. The title of the book, Journey Across the Four Seas, is the journey she took to bring her children to the Gold Mountain, also called America.My other big puzzle was my job. I was the World Bank's loan officer for Somalia shortly before the country collapsed. At the time, the west was pouring money into Somalia to reward it for defecting from the Soviet camp. The investments were also to help the country develop into a modern state. Despite these efforts, the Somali government crumbled and the country plunged back into the Dark Ages. I wanted to understand what had gone wrong. After researching into Somali history and culture, I wove them into a spy thriller called Nightfall in Mogadishu. I was born in Thailand, grew up mostly in Hong Kong and immigrated to the U.S. at fifteen. I have a B.A. in English from University of California, Berkeley and a master's in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins University. I was also a journalist for the Asian Wall Street Journal and other news organizations. I now live in Northern Virginia with my husband. ...more