Vera Koo is a first-generation Chinese American woman. She is a wife and mother, author, entrepreneur and retired professional athlete. Vera made her home on the West Coast but is an avid traveler, food lover and patron of the arts. Her first book and memoir, The Most Unlikely Champion, recounts the stories of her life with tremendous introspection and emotional clarity. Her second book, published on the heels of the first one, is titled Wisdom and Things: Essays from an Unlikely Champion. It is based on her columns found regularly in the online publication Women’s Outdoor News, along with more life experiences. This new book, another memoir, features content in a wide variety of categories, covering everything from travel to Vera’s faith in God and her conversion from Buddhism to Christianity.
Koo was born in Qinhuangdao, Hebei, China, and spent her childhood in Hong Kong. She immigrated with her family to the United States she was 12 years old. Vera and her husband, Carlos, own a successful business in the San Francisco Bay area, are the proud parents of three children and grandparents to six grandchildren.
In a relatively short period of time and at an age when many people are thinking of retiring, Vera became one of the world’s top female athletes in the sport of competition action pistol shooting. She represented the U.S. in several world matches, and won the prestigious Bianchi Cup championship in the women’s division eight times – which is unsurpassed today.
It is her hope that during this time of her life, she may be allowed to continue mentoring other people to aspire to be their best at whatever they choose to do, and to work with whatever life gives them. In her own life, she has navigated storms of death, losing a child and betrayal. She continues her unending faith in God, and attributes it as the reason for her success and stability. She is an “unlikely champion,” and represents that entity in all of us.
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