The Story
Iris Changs mysterious suicide in 2004, at age thirtysix, didnt seem to make any sense. She had more to live for than anyone, including fame, fortune, beauty, a husband, and child. Some even wondered if the controversial author of the Rape of Nanking had been murdered. Longtime friend Paula Kamen was among those left wondering what had gone so wrong. Seeking to reconcile the suicide with the image of Changs perfect life, Kamen searched her own memory and scoured Changs letters, diaries, and archival material to fill in the gaps of Changs personal transformationfrom awkward teen to homecoming princess in college, from exshy person to worldclass speaker and international human rights pioneerand later decline into mental illness and paranoia. A literary investigation of an important writers journey, Finding Iris is a tribute to a lost heroine, a portrait of the real and vulnerable woman who inspired so many around the world.
Description
Iris Changs mysterious suicide in 2004, at age thirtysix, didnt seem to make any sense. She had more to live for than anyone, including fame, fortune, beauty, a husband, and child. Some even wondered if the controversial author of the Rape of Nanking had been murdered. Longtime friend Paula Kamen was among those left wondering what had gone so wrong. Seeking to reconcile the suicide with the image of Changs perfect life, Kamen searched her own memory and scoured Changs letters, diaries, and archival material to fill in the gaps of Changs personal transformationfrom awkward teen to homecoming princess in college, from exshy person to worldclass speaker and international human rights pioneerand later decline into mental illness and paranoia. A literary investigation of an important writers journey, Finding Iris is a tribute to a lost heroine, a portrait of the real and vulnerable woman who inspired so many around the world.
