I was born at the start of China’s Cultural Revolution, when Mao Zedong was determined to wipe out all wealthy and educated Chinese citizens. My family was among this group. I was separated from my mother at birth and handed to my ailing grandmother to survive on the streets. My father had been thrown in jail, and my mother was immediately exiled to the remote countryside. Her life was spared because, as a physician, she could be useful to Mao’s people.
For 11 years, I lived with my grandmother on the street. I endured hunger, beatings from the Red Guard and other forms of abuse, but my grandmother fought for me. I remember the deep love she shared with me during those years. Even more fortunately, I was nurtured by a Buddhist monk, who has been my mentor ever since. Amazingly, my mother, father, grandmother and I all survived that time and were reunited as a family when I was 11.
I could have become bitter from the experience, but that would not have honored the compassion, wisdom, and courage shown to me by my grandmother and my mentor. Their commitment to me during that time demonstrated what a powerful gift it is to commit oneself to children so they can continue to have hope for their future,” says Dr. Lu.
I became an avid learner and received my M.D. in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Beijing Medical School. I received a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where I studied the impact of AIDS in China. I founded Golden Courage International in 2005 as an outgrowth of this work. I am also the president and CEO of Dr. Lu’s Nourishing Life Clinic and Nourishing Life Herbs, LLC, which help people nourish their lives through high-quality, organic herbal products, and a healthy lifestyle.
Lii Yuhan (“A Very Cold Rain”) is an 11-year-old fifth-grader who lives with her grandparents and her mother. Her mother, a burn victim, has lost her fingers, and her face is badly disfigured.
