Like a Wave We Break

The courageous memoir of one woman’s globe-spanning quest to cultivate self-love, break free from external validation, and confront the long-buried truths of a traumatic past, by the former CEO and co-founder of Embrace Global. On paper, Jane Chen was the embodiment of success. A Harvard and Stanford graduate, she started an organization which developed a groundbreaking incubator helping to save hundreds of thousands of vulnerable newborns around the world. Yet despite the achievements and accolades, she was plagued by feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy. As a Taiwanese American immigrant, she inherited from her parents the belief that no matter how much she achieved, she would never be enough. Then, after a decade of pouring her soul into the company, Embrace collapsed. Feeling utterly broken, Jane embarked on a global soul-searching expedition, determined to heal herself by any means necessary. She dove headfirst into every form of self-help, from the spiritual to the psychedelic, from the cultish to the comical, only to come face-to-face with the one truth she had spent a lifetime avoiding: the trauma of her upbringing. In the end, Jane discovered real healing wasn’t out there--it had to come from within. A memoir brimming with candor, humor, and hard-won wisdom, <Like a Wave We Break< is more than a story of personal transformation--it’s an invitation to embrace our deepest wounds and find the courage to truly love ourselves

Autorentext

Jane Chen is a globally recognized entrepreneur, inventor, and speaker. She is a co-founder of Embrace Global, which developed a groundbreaking infant incubator that has helped to save nearly a million babies. Chen has been a TED Fellow, an Echoing Green Fellow, and a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. Chen was recognized as a Forbes Impact 30 and Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the World Economic Forum and was a recipient of The Economist’s Innovation Award. She received her MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and her master’s in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Klappentext

**NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The courageous memoir of one woman’s globe-spanning journey of unraveling and awakening—breaking free of the narratives that once defined her and confronting the long-buried truths of a traumatic past—by the former CEO and co-founder of Embrace.

“A brilliant and gripping book about how resilience, keen intelligence, and sheer grit can transform cultural legacy and family adversity into hope and inspiration around the world.”—Bessel van der Kolk, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Body Keeps the Score
**
On paper, Jane Chen was the embodiment of success. A Harvard and Stanford graduate, she was the CEO and co-founder of a company that developed a groundbreaking incubator helping to save hundreds of thousands of newborns in the world’s most vulnerable communities. Her work gave her purpose and earned her shoutouts from presidents and pop stars. Yet underneath it all, she was burning out—consumed by self-doubt and a relentless need to prove herself, shaped by wounds that had formed long before her career began. No matter how much she achieved, she never felt like she was enough.

Then, Embrace collapsed. Jane lost more than a dream—she lost the identity she had built her life around. Feeling utterly broken, she set off on a global quest for healing. Her search took her across oceans and into the uncharted terrain of her inner world. She sat in silence for days in the Indonesian jungle. She sought wisdom from world-renowned healers and therapists. She burned holes into her leg for a frog poisoning ceremony. She dove headfirst into every form of self-help, from the spiritual to the psychedelic, from the cultish to the comical, only to find herself face-to-face with the one thing she had spent a lifetime avoiding: the trauma of her upbringing as a first-generation Taiwanese American. Jane discovered a profound truth—that real healing doesn’t come from achievement, approval, or even the tools we think will save us.

A revelatory memoir brimming with candor, humor, and hard-won wisdom, Like a Wave We Break is more than a story of personal transformation—it’s an invitation to confront our deepest wounds and to embrace the messy, beautiful truth of who we are.

Leseprobe
Chapter 1

Genesis

The dining room was dim, the blinds half-drawn. My mother was dishing up a traditional Taiwanese dinner: a whole pan-fried fish, chicken with stir-fried vegetables, sauteed spinach, and egg-drop soup. She cooked like this every night. She placed the dishes on the table, then handed a plate of spaghetti and meatballs to Joyce. With a fork. Joyce grinned, pleased at her special treatment.

“Why does she get a fork?” I asked.

“Too little,” Mom said. Though what she really meant was too American. My older sister, Nancy, was eleven, and I was seven. We all used chopsticks, but Joyce, who was four, still hadn’t learned. I sat in my chair, one knee drawn to my chest, and started digging into my bowl of rice.

“Xiao Yu, don’t squat like that,” Mom scolded, calling me by my Taiwanese name. “You look like you sell vegetables at the outdoor market in Taiwan! What if you have dinner with a princess one day? You need to have good manners.”

After we finished eating, Mom stood to clear the dishes. Dad lit a cigarette and settled into his rust-colored La-Z-Boy in the living room. The familiar theme music of Wheel of Fortune played in the background as he grabbed the remote, turning the volume up.

“Our final puzzle is a person,” said Pat Sajak. “Lorraine, spin the wheel.”

Dad’s eyes glittered as the wheel slowed near $5,000. He loved the spin, the gamble, the moment that it might hit big. It clicked past, landing on $500.

“Agggghh!” Dad groaned.

“I’d like to buy a vowel, Pat,” said the contestant. “E.”

“Vanna, show us E.”

Vanna White floated across the screen in a sequined dress and flipped over a giant letter E.

Pat Sajak narrated the show, but my eyes were on Vanna, a live-action Barbie with perfectly coiffed golden hair, blue eyes, and what seemed like a permanent smile. If Vanna White was America, then I, with my black hair, brown eyes, and olive skin, most definitely was not.

Dad stared at the puzzle on the screen, brow furrowed.

“L,” said the contestant.

“L,” echoed Pat Sajak as Vanna began her strut. “There are four L’s.”

As Vanna flipped letters, Dad’s eyes flashed. Scanning back and forth over the puzzle, I could see him trying to spell the word, to piece it together. But with his limited English, he never could.

“You have $2,550,” Pat Sajak told the contestant. “Will you spin again?”

“No,” she said confidently. “I’m going to solve the puzzle.”

Dad pitched his body toward the screen, his eyes wide.

“Jolly good fellow!” said the woman.

“She’s got it!” Pat cried. Canned applause flooded the living room as Vanna revealed the rest of the puzzle. Watching the letters click into place, Dad’s face lit up, its soft wrinkles going taut.

“Zo Gao!” he exclaimed in Taiwanese, taking a deep, satisfied drag of his cigarette. Very good. So talented. I don’t think he knew what the phrase actually meant, but he was impressed when anyone solved the puzzle quickly. We passed most nights after dinner like this: Dad watching Vanna flip letters, while I added game-show phrases to my quickly growing vo…