My short bio

Betty Ming Liu (she/her) is a holistic life & career coach. Her specialty is coaching storytellers to find their real stories. This is often called “trauma-informed storytelling” because it goes beyond pretty words to find power and authenticity in the big picture. Betty’s own origin story includes her family’s immigration and money trauma, mental health issues, addiction and domestic violence. But she transformed the narrative after she became a student of Chinese healing arts based on ancient Daoist philosophy. This is how she recovered missing chunks of her personal puzzle.   

Betty’s parents are Chinese immigrants from China and Vietnam. She grew up in New York City’s Chinatown. She graduated from Stuyvesant High School, Baruch College and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Her 16-year journalism career included many exciting years as a New York Daily News columnist. After full-time journalism, she found her calling over the past two decades as a teacher. She’s currently a part-time professor and coach in New York University’s journalism department. In 2022, at the age of 65, Betty made a huge life change and moved to Los Angeles with her rescue pit bull. As a proud single mom, she’s happy to be living just minutes away from her millennial daughter.  

The long(er) bio

My struggling Chinese immigrant parents raised me in survival mode. We shut down our feelings and focused on work. I was their success story – until I wasn’t.

On the “success” side: I grew up to be a journalist and professor. During my marriage, I had Louis Vuitton and Prada bags, a Lexus, a Mercedes and a big house.

Then, the other side: Divorce. Money trauma. Intergenerational trauma. Coping as an older, single mom of color. Family issues related to immigration PTSD, alcoholism and domestic violence. But that’s getting way ahead of the story.

My first career as a journalist gave me the tools to observe, question and discover my truth. I started out with a success perm, an accounting degree from Baruch College and a master’s from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

I was the first Asian American staffer at every newsroom that hired me. For 15 years, it was a wild ride of chasing headlines and working on deadline. Once I quit to do the mommy thing, I began new chapters. Divorce. Single motherhood. And, blogging, which held me steady. I had lots to share; my post about the tiger mom went viral.

Another chapter began when a career makeover finally fulfilled a childhood dream. In junior high school, I belonged to the “Future Teachers League.” Over the past 20 years, I’ve taught at half a dozen universities, training generations of students to be sassy, succinct storytellers.

I’m known for teaching three subjects at three places, right through the pandemic: Journalism at NYU, creative writing at The New School and speech communication skills at Westchester Community College. I’m also a recipient of NYU’s “Outstanding Teaching Award.”

 In 2021, I transitioned from mostly teaching to mostly coaching. During these recent years, I’m finally understanding the impact of my childhood. Little Betty was a sad kid, filled with wordless rage. But now, as a grownup, I found the words: Depression. Anxiety. Low self-esteem. And, all of it followed me into adulthood as triggers for self-sabotage.

Welcome to my inner child. I had discovered a new self-awareness. Over time, I reframed my relationship to my past. Now, everything’s different – my thinking, my life. My story.

In 2022, at 65 years young, I moved cross country to Los Angeles. Today, I live just minutes away from my grown daughter. Home is a sweet little bungalow, which I share with Bobo, my rescue pit bull. My inner child is safe, loved and ready for play. Happy at last!

P.S. – Want to explore ways to reframe your past and unlock your future? You can start with my Discovery Worksheet. Download it HERE.