Congratulations to Shani Chen, DBHS Class of 2003, for becoming a recently published author. Her book is titled If Nuns Were Wives.

If Nuns Were Wives is a book that shows the everyday woman how to have a fulfilling, loving, dedicated, and successful marriage using a perspective that might surprise you—the perspective of a nun. Shani was once an aspiring nun who is now married. She discovered that the skills she learned in preparing to enter the nunnery are actually applicable in a marriage.

After graduating from Diamond Bar High in 2003, Shani attended Azusa Pacific University. Following in her mother’s footsteps, she received a degree in Education. Shani moved to Taiwan for a couple of years and taught English at a religious boarding school. She says her mind has been flooded with ideas for other books she would like to author. Stating that, “Writing somehow transforms and evolves me which I find crucial to my own growth. I will be writing for life.”

"I loved my time at DBHS (go Brahmas!). Being exposed to the arts during those years really opened up the creative channels in me. I suddenly found myself writing a lot, all the time in fact, and wanting to document everything I went through. By the time I entered college, I amassed shelves and shelves of notebooks full of my writing. It was a steady passion, but one I never thought to share with anyone.

It wasn’t until I traveled halfway around the world, taught abroad, wanted to become a nun and finally returned to my home in Diamond Bar when I decided that there was a pressing message I wanted to share with others. That is how the book, If Nuns Were Wives, came to be; it was birthed in the very heart of this city that I know and love."

Shani Chen has been married for twelve years and now resides in Diamond Bar with her husband and two children.

You can find out more about Shani and her book at https://www.shanichen.com/