Vera Koo
Vera Koo is a first-generation Chinese American woman. She’s a wife and mother, author, entrepreneur, and retired competition shooter. She’s made her home on the West Coast but is an avid traveler, food lover, and patron of the arts. Vera’s first book and memoir, The Most Unlikely Champion, recounts the stories of her life with tremendous introspection and emotional clarity.
Buy My Books
Vera’s story is more than that of a petite Asian woman becoming a top competitor in the male-dominated sport shooting world. It’s the story of a Chinese immigrant – raised in a traditional Chinese culture, where women deferred to their husbands and kept to their socio-economic class – who succeeded in America.
Vera is a successful businesswoman, an accomplished athlete, and a loving wife and mother. It was never an “either-or” for Vera; it’s about meeting life’s challenges head-on with dogged persistence, grace, humility, and … humor.
In Wisdom and Things, Vera shares lessons she learned throughout her career as a champion female shooter in a sport marked by its machismo. The paperback book contains 130 full color photos and 40 some articles. Topics also include travel, outdoor sports, faith and Vera’s childhood experiences. Her outlook on life pays respect to her Chinese heritage, while encompassing the competitive American spirit.
Wisdom and Things will inspire readers and show them that they have the power to attain their greatest ambitions. Vera’s life is proof that inspiring success stories can emerge from humble beginnings.
Vera’s Blog
A 5-year (and counting!) collection of posts from “Vera Koo” – the column penned by Vera, and published by Women’s Outdoor News. A collection of these blogs appears in Vera’s second book Wisdom and Things.
How I Lost and Gained Vision
In this story, former competition shooter Vera Koo describes her last few years with vision problems, and how she lost and gained back her vision.
Climbing in the 22nd Century
Vera Koo’s daughter, Shane, describes what it’s like to return to the sport of climbing, and about how it has changed.
Vera Koo Writes About Inspiration
Vera Koo has seen many trials, and luckily for us, blogs about those experiences. Read excerpts from a few of these “Inspiration” posts.