Escape from Shanghai (24 page)

One of Mom’s ambitions was to “outlive all of her enemies.”

This, I believe, she did.

Unfortunately, we lost track of our good friends Uncle Jin and Auntie May after 1947. I hope they outlived all of their enemies, too.

Jane Sun Huang died April 23, 2012 at the age of 99. She was just six months shy of her targeted and magical century mark.

She kept her promise not to reveal her experiences of World War II during her lifetime. Just as I had promised that I would honor her request to tell her story after her death.

I believe my mother lived a courageous, moral, and meaningful life. I hope this little book is worthy of her.

On a personal note, I’ve had a difficult time writing this book because it’s been hard for me to reveal myself. It’s been an emotional struggle simply because I had been trained to keep secrets at a very early age. Consequently, I’m more than reticent to talk about myself or my family. While I’m fully aware of this, it still has not been easy to tell all. But, I hope I have revealed enough to make my mother’s story an interesting and satisfying read.

I would like to thank my good friend George Golfinopoulos for his insightful editorial comments. Who would have thought that a lawyer would make a good editor? Thank you George.

Thanks, too, to Bob Sherman, a wonderful, kind, gentle artist and designer, who created the maps and restored the old photos used in this book. His selfless heart is big enough to tackle a job so much beneath his talents that it leaves me in awe of him. Thanks for your generous soul, Bob

And, there’s Harry and B.J. Hill and Nancy and Dennis Dowd who read an earlier version of the book and who’s comments and encouragement helped me finish my work.

Finally, there’s Jacquie, my wife. Her loving encouragement and helpful comments through innumerable drafts made this book possible. I could say more, but that would mean another book. Thank you, Jacquie!

Paul C. Huang is a writer-creator-entrepreneur who is featured in the twenty-seventh edition of
Who’s Who in the East
and the first edition of
Who’s Who in the Media and Communications
. His work as writer-producer-director on the documentary film
Chinatown, Inc
won him a bronze medal in the 1977 International Film & Television Festival of New York, an award he received again, a year later, for his work on
Billions for Defense
.

Huang is the creator of the
Dynasty Game
. He authored two cookbooks,
The Illustrated Step-by-Step Chinese Cookbook
and
The Illustrated Step-by-Step Beginner’s Cookbook
, and is coauthor of a high-school textbook. His most recent title,
Escape from Shanghai
,
is a memoir about the secret, revolutionary life of his mother—a true story that’s more compelling than most fiction.

Huang currently lives in Florida with his wife Jacquie. He is the former chief operating officer of Tribeca Interactive, a division of Robert De Niro’s motion picture production company.