March 2020

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

Iris Yang will be the featured speaker at the Library’s community book discussion on Tuesday, March 31, at 1:30 p.m. at Sedona Winds Retirement Community, 405 Jacks Canyon Road. All are welcome!
 
We will be discussing Iris’s first book, “Wings of a Flying Tiger.” The novel tells the story of Danny Hardy, one of the heroic Flying Tigers, a group of American volunteer pilots who helped China fight Japan in World War II. When Danny bails out of his fighter plane into a remote region of western China, he has multiple injuries and is being pursued by Japanese troops. After villagers take him in, the serenity of their community is forever shattered. Love, sacrifice, kindness, and bravery all play a part in this epic tale that takes place during some of the darkest hours of Chinese history.
 
Iris Yang (Qing Yang) was born and raised in China. After graduating from Wuhan University, she was accepted by the prestigious CUSBEA (China-United States Biochemistry Examination and Application) program. At age 23, with poor English, little knowledge of the United States, and $500 that she borrowed, she came to the U.S. as a graduate student at the University of Rochester. Later, she earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology and worked at the University of North Carolina.
 
Growing up in China, Iris had limited access to literature. During the Cultural Revolution, libraries were closed, and bookstores carried nothing except political works.  Nevertheless, she fell in love with literature by listening to her father tell stories. She developed a passion for creative writing, a dangerous pursuit in her native country, so she had to choose a safer career path.
 
In America, Iris had the freedom to pursue her dream of writing fiction, which she describes as a journey. It took about three years writing fulltime to complete two books:  “Wings of a Flying Tiger” and “Will of a Tiger.” She recently finished the third book of the Tiger Saga Trilogy, scheduled to be published this summer. “Legacy of the Tigers” is about a woman’s struggle in China’s political chaos—to survive and to search for her family and the American pilot she loves.
 
During a recent interview, Iris explained her interest in the Flying Tigers: “I didn’t know anything about the Flying Tigers until I came to the U.S. As a Chinese, I’m thankful for the Flying Tigers’ bravery and sacrifice.  As a U.S. citizen, I’m honored to write books about American heroes.”
 
Iris and her books have been featured on National Public Radio. In 2019 she was the guest speaker at the Flying Tigers WWII Veterans Reunion. She welcomes opportunities to speak to groups to share her stories. Contact the author at www.irisyang-author.com. 
 
For more information about programs that we offer at Sedona Public Library, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, please stop by or call the Library at 928-282-7714.  You may also access the Library’s website at www.sedonalibrary.org to view the events calendar or to make an online donation.