Four San Marino women have joined forces to publish a book based on their popular Crowell Public Library lecture series “Joyful Living/Happy Life.”
Authors Becky Lei, Ivy Sun, Rosa Zee and Vivian Chan celebrated the release of their new book “Practice Happiness: 7 Habits of Joyful Living” at the library on April 2.
All proceeds from book sales on that day were donated back to Crowell Public Library. The four women sold out of their book at the event.
The book is a collection of essays written in both Chinese and English. The four authors have known each other for years from their involvement in various San Marino organizations.
With the changing demographics of San Marino, Chan said many people in 2012 began to see the need to help Asian immigrants transition into their new community. The “Joyful Living/Happy Life” lecturing series was developed by Lei, Sun, Zee and Chan with that purpose as well as providing dialogue on subjects of emotional intelligence, intercultural relationships, family life and community service.
The first “Joyful Living/Happy Life” workshop was held at California Institute of Technology in 2012.
“We had a packed house where a couple hundred people showed up,” Chan said.
She said that well-attended meeting reinforced the thought that there was demand for this series in the community.
In the prologue of “Practice Happiness,” San Marino City Librarian Irene McDermott talks about the shifting demographics in San Marino, noting that the 2010 Census indicated that 53.5 percent of the city households were Asian.
“The public library in San Marino responded to its changing audience as well as it could, expanding its Chinese language book collection and hiring a part-time Chinese cataloger,” she wrote. “Still, its programs were exclusively offered in English because the library staff lacked Chinese language skills.”
McDermott said Chan came to the rescue with Lei, Sun and Zee to help with Chinese language programming. The women then began regularly hosting the Mandarin-language lecture series, which was co-sponsored by the United Charity Foundation, at Crowell Public Library in 2013. It went from a quarterly event to six to seven times per year.
“We are the four main volunteer speakers in our different areas,” Chan said. “We also invite other speakers on specific topics.”
Lei said the book idea came about partly because some non-Mandarin speakers were disappointed that the lecture series were conducted mainly in Mandarin.
“They would ask if there was a book that they could read about the workshop,” she said.
Many Mandarin speakers also asked if there was a book that they could take home to Asia or share with their family members, according to Lei. Sun said the book focuses on, as the title suggests, finding happiness.
“Everyone wants happiness,” she said. “But how do you get it?”
Sun said applying emotional intelligence, relationship-building, communication skills and emotional management to daily life can avoid unnecessary conflicts and pain.
“We use a lot of real life examples from our own experience and the people around us,” Lei said. “We give examples and we give tools to help them.”
Zee said the Joyful Living/Happy Life lecture series has gained quite a following throughout the past three years.
“We built up a database of followers,” she said. “We have our fans.”
Lei is former president of the Board of Education of San Marino Unified School District. She is an author, motivational speaker, business consultant and life coach. Lei was a master trainer for the Parent Expectations Support Achievement program of the Los Angeles Office of Education and has conducted seminars all over the world on leadership and emotional intelligence. She was honored by Congresswoman Judy Chu in 2004 during the first Asian Pacific-Islander American Heritage Month Celebration.
Sun is honorary chairperson of the Los Angeles Chapter of the International Leadership Foundation and supervisor of the Chinese American Education Association of Southern California. She is a former executive administrator of South Hills Academy and a member of the board of directors of Taipei Lih-Jen International School. Sun has been an educator for more than 30 years and received the President’s Volunteer Service Award from the White House in 2012.
Zee, who is an educator and author, was former president of the San Marino Unified School District Board of Education. She was also president of the Chinese Club of San Marino, Chinese American Education Association and Carver Elementary School PTA. Zee is the founding president of the Chinese Floral Arts Foundation – USA Charter and received a Congressional proclamation in 2012 for her contribution to Chinese cultural art.
Chan, who is an online columnist, lecturer, event organizer, mediator and consultant, is the founding board member of the United Charity Foundation and the Chinese Floral Arts Foundation – USA Charter. She currently serves as a board member on the Los Angeles Department of Consumer Affairs Advisory Committee, American Cancer Society San Gabriel Leadership Council and Pasadena City College President’s Asian American Pacific Islander Advisory Committee. Chan earned presidential recognition from the White House in 2012 for her volunteer work with disadvantaged children and the “The Golden Apple Award” from SMUSD in 2014 for her community volunteer work.
