Adeline Yen Mah

“...transcend your abuse and transform it into a source of courage, creativity, and compassion.” (Yen Mah xii). Later in Adeline Yen Mah’s life, she learned that she could turn all of her hurt and abuse into bravery. In her childhood, Adeline was unwanted and lonely. Adeline was mostly lonely at home.

Adeline’s self esteem was very low, and she even wrote down the word “nothing” as what her best quality was. Being an unwanted child certainly played a role in her low self esteem. For example, “I’m afraid I've forgotten your Chinese name. Is it Jun-quing?” (Yen Mah 124). To begin, Adeline’s father had forgotten his own daughter’s name. This shows how she was barely noticed by her own family. Another example, “We’ll find you an orphanage that will take you in until you’re old enough to find a job to support yourself. Your
The only people who were close with her were Aunt Baba and Ye Ye. Adeline was never visited by any of her family members at Sacred Heart. For example, “Since no one had ever come to visit me (let alone brought me an egg), it was humiliating to sit there morning after morning looking on, knowing my number would never come up.” (Yen Mah 163). Adeline spent all of her years at Sacred Heart not once ever getting an egg from her family. She spent a lonely two years at Sacred Heart never receiving an egg, until one day when a girl gave hers to Adeline. Another reason why Adeline was lonely was she was never allowed to have any friends over at her house, or go over to their houses. For example, “Go downstairs this minute and tell your hooligan friends to get out! They are not welcome!” (Yen Mah 115). Adeline was slapped by Niang because she had friends over without knowing it. Adeline was never allowed to have friends over at her house, which caused her to not have too many friends. In conclusion, Adeline had very few friends and close family members, which caused her to have a lonely