Dr. Shan Liu and her daughter read their book, Masked Hero, in SF Chinatown to tell the story of her great grandpa inventing N95 mask 100 yrs ago

(SAN FRANCISCO) Dr. Shan Liu and her daughter returned to San Francisco to have a book reading event on their new book, Masked Hero, and shared the story of Liu's great grandfather inventing the N95 mask in China over a century ago.

Dr. Liu, an emergency physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston, was raised and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Liu was invited to kick off the APA Family Support Services (APAFSS)'s brand new Family Resource Center located in the heart of Chinatown on Grant Avenue as its first public event.

The Book Talk was co-hosted by All American Medical Group (AAMG) on December 16, 2023 at the Family Resource Center.

Dr. Liu has recently released her first book "Masked Hero" which is a children's book co-authored with her daughter 5-grader Kaili Gormley.

The book was based on a true story about Dr. Lien-teh Wu who was Liu's great grandfather from her father's side. Dr. Wu invented a medical mask in 1911 to fight the plague in Harbin, China. The widely-spread disease was under control in less than 4 months because of the masks developed by Dr. Wu.

"Masked Hero" was Dr. Liu's first book. The idea was created in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. At the time Dr. Liu was treating many COVID patients at the hospital, the Asian community was facing extra challenges of anti-Asian hate.

Dr. Liu wanted to do something more for the community. She decided to write a children's book.

"As anti-Asian hate crimes grew and racial tensions grew due to COVID, part of me feared my children would be ashamed of their Asian heritage. I feared they would not be proud of their ancestor or their racial heritage and I wanted to do something about it," Dr. Liu said. "When I saw that so few children's books featured Asians as heroes, I wanted to change that narrative."

In the book reading, Dr. Liu had a presentation to provide more information of the mask invention by her great grandfather in 1911. She also hoped the children would know more the significance of wearing masks during the pandemic.

Daniel Lurie, San Francisco mayoral candidate for the November election in 2024, attended the Book Talk event. He bought a copy of the "Masked Hero" for his young children. Lurie was impressed by the history of the N95 mask invention by a Chinese physician over 100 years ago.

Fanny Lam, Executive Director of APAFSS, praised the great book by Dr. Liu and her daughter to inspire many more children.

"For doctors, we wear masks everyday," Dr. Hans Yu, a leader at AAMG, said that masks have been proven effective and important to prevent being infected.

Dr. Joseph Woo, President of AAMG, remembered the masks were recycled and microwaved for reuse in the early days of the pandemic when the supplies of masks were in shortage. "We are now better prepared for the next pandemic. Hopefully we don't need to live through," said Woo.

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