Check out our Q&A with Mary Li, Author of Mary’s Last Dance

What do you hope readers will take away from Mary’s Last Dance?

The joy of family. The difficulty of choices and the perseverance required to live with those choices.

What was the most challenging part of writing this book?

Me having to “sit with myself” for two and a half years. And not wanting to relive the hard times.

What was it like for Li, your children and wider family to read the book?

It was very emotional for Li to relive the hard times. He felt it was very important for Sophie and me that this book be written. Sophie was very involved and she believes it is a very important book on so many levels. The family members who were very involved in the evolution of the book found it very touching – especially reminiscing about our childhood and our parents. It was a delight to remember those days.

What impact do you hope the book has on other parents of deaf children, or the deaf community in general?

I hope it provides useful information. The more parents of deaf children know, the more options they will have and the better the outcomes will be for their children. I would have loved to have a book like mine – with real-life experience, not a medical journal or paper by an academic, but information from someone living the experience. I also hope it is useful for someone with a child with difficulties other than deafness, who has extra needs.

Who are some of your favourite authors? Or favourite books?

My husband Li Cunxin, of course! I love books and as I toured the world with ballet, I tried to read books by famous authors from the countries we visited. So I’ve got so many favourites from those times – in the UK, Charles Dickens (Nicholas Nickleby), Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Thomas More’s Utopia, which had a lasting impression. Russia inspired me to read Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and Puskin’s Eugene Onegin. When I moved to Texas I read Lonesome Dove. Meeting Li encouraged me to read Chinese books, and I loved Pearl Buck’s The Good Earth and Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club. In Australia, I’ve enjoyed lots of Aussie authors but Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet is a favourite.