After living in China for more than a decade, Lori Qian relocated with her family to Alpine, Utah, ready to embrace an entirely new adventure–from a city of 15 million to a city of 15 thousand!

Lori  was the first in her family to graduate from college and thus is a strong advocate of education and its life-changing power. She has subsequently contributed as a teacher and school leader for more than 20 years.  Lori holds a BA in anthropology and philosophy, an MA in applied linguistics, and has advanced graduate training in school leadership, literacy instruction, and elementary education.

As a part of her quest for continued learning and self-improvement, at the age of 45, Lori began an entirely new career.  She has embraced her role as a Licensed Mortgage Broker, helping people secure funding for their dream of home ownership, a concept that resonates deeply with her as her family builds their own “American Dream”.

More than anything, Lori enjoys spending time with her family, which includes her husband, their 3 children, and their mini golden doodle. She loves every aspect of living the quiet, suburban American lifestyle, from yard work and neighborhood dinners to exploring beautiful hiking trails all around her.

Learning about the world is a high priority, though, and having been blessed to travel to over 20 countries, Lori and her family are looking forward to future chances to learn, explore, and serve around the world.

Qian is currently working on her second book, Fighting for Fitness, a self-help guide for making dramatic life changes, particularly in health and fitness, but in all areas of our lives as well.

Her mom was working as a maid. Her dad’s Alzheimer’s was in high gear. And the rent on her parents’ small Chicago apartment had just gone up. Again. But Lori was holding it all together: helping care for her dad and pay her family’s bills, figuring out how to navigate graduate school and four jobs on top of her family responsibilities, and, somehow, continuing to believe that there was more to life than this.

And there was. An exciting job teaching at a prestigious school in China. Although the previous month, she had turned down a job offer in Iowa―thinking it was too far away from her family―she felt completely at ease accepting the job in China. Grasping on to the fierce determination she’d had since childhood, Lori found herself in Guangzhou, China, where she fell in love with the culture and with a man from a tiny town in Hubei province. What followed was a transformative adventure―one that will inspire readers to use the bitter to make life even sweeter.