I was born in Shanghai, China in 1947. My beloved Chinese-French grandfather gave me the name Milly, after which my parents gave me my Chinese name, Mianli. It was unusual to have an Anglican name before a Chinese one, especially back then. But my name reflected my unusual upbringing: our household was international and my parents were both doctors renown throughout Shanghai, factors that played against us years later during the cultural revolution.
In 1967, the Chinese Cultural Revolution sealed my fate. In order to save my parents the grief of losing their only son, I volunteered to take the place of my brother as one of the thousands of teens ordered by Chairman Mao to spend the rest of our lives as peasants in the countryside. After eight years of torture and hard-labor, standing knee-deep in the rice fields every day had filled my joints and muscles with rheumatism. I found myself straddling the thin line between life and death. And when I was sent away in a cart, pulled by a donkey, barely conscious, I chose life, and somehow made it back to Shanghai.
In 1987, I moved to the United States, with two suitcases, $10 in my pocket and my three-year old daughter, Jenny. With humble beginnings as a house keeper and caregiver, teaching myself English at the age of 40, I worked my way up and into Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering, the top law firm in D.C. at the time.
In 2007, I turned 60, and Live Wright Society was born. What initially began as a mother-daughter effort to share stories, wisdom, and ideas on improving the quality of life, has turned into a growing community of inspirational conversations, experiences and influential actions.
Every 20 years, my life seems to hit a milestone. I very much look forward to spending the next 20 working with you, to make our lives better and better.
Love and live,
Milly Xu Founder, Live Wright Society
CAST
MILLY XU, Founder & Executive Director Love and Life.
DEBBI WRIGHT, Advisor "Life is a process. I am a work in progress.These are my goals: Each day I choose to have a good attitude with plenty of gratitude. Each day I choose to take care of me, myself and I . . . spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally. Each day I choose to Live Wright. Each day I choose to reach out to help others, whose paths I have similarly walked, to Live Wright!" E-mail: [email protected]
JENNY BAI, Creative Director Jenny is a serial entrepreneur who connects China and U.S. through innovative initiatives specializing in technology, investment and media. She is founder of The Red Connect, Girl 2.0, and serves as Executive Director of Girls in Tech China and CEO of Mintbelly. Jenny holds a BA in Communications and Philosophy from Vanderbilt University, and her background lies in branding, design and word-of-mouth marketing. Follow her on Twitter @jennybai or read more at jennybai.com. E-mail: [email protected]
ANDREW PEARSON, Multimedia Director Andrew lives by two mantras: stay healthy and
stay helpful. Diagnosed with Crohn’s/Colitis at age 14, spending much of his
teenage years in and out of the hospital, Andrew had his colon
removed. Since then, he has been trying to make a difference in the lives of
other Crohn’s/Colitis carriers, by becoming a marathon runner and joining Team
Challenge to train and help raise money to fight back. As an AV guru, Andrew loves to combine his passions for
video production and photography and helping to improve the quality of other people's lives. E-mail: [email protected]
DAVID HERRERA, Dance Director Breakdancing as a child and spending his young adulthood as an athlete, David returned to dancing after seeing his mother win Latin club dance competitions in LA in the early 80s. Having been recognized as the third top dance teacher at the 14th Annual New Orleans Bourbon Street Ball in 2008, and currently one of the instructors on Dancing with the Stars Texas, David's goal is to impact, instruct and educate people through the art of dance. E-mail: [email protected]
