Adeline Yen Mah

Yen Jun-ling's mother died two weeks after she was born. Shortly afterword, her thirty-six-year-old father married a beautiful seventeen-year-old Eurasian girl named Jean. After becoming the matriarch of the family of five small children, Jean decided to rename all the children, giving them European names. Jun-ling's name was changed to Adeline, a name that she chose to use throughout her life. The children were instructed to call Jean Niang, which is a Chinese word for mother.

Although Niang was young, she was not reluctant to take over the large family. She immediately set up harsh rules for the children, which she failed to apply to her own two children who were born a few years later. Although Adeline was a shy child and very respectful and obedient to her elders, she knew that her stepmother was acting in a cruel and self-centered way in her treatment...