Katherine Haas first dreamed of publishing a book when she was 9 years old. At 86, her dream came true.

“This is a good country to grow up in, and you can be proud of who you are instead of ashamed of who you were because that’s how I was made to feel, less than,” said Haas.

“Little Jade” is a memoir detailing Haas’ life, in three countries before the age of 11 and then as an immigrant in the United States. Born in Germany in 1937, her mother was German and her father Chinese and an ambassador. The family moved to China when her father was ordered to work for then president of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek. When she was 11, her family moved to the United States to escape the Chinese civil war because they faced discrimination and violence for being half European.

After arriving in Washington, D.C., and living with family friends, Haas struggled to learn English.

“When we came to America, in 1949 [at the age of 11], I was just miserable,” Haas said. “I had a brilliant older sister and a brilliant younger brother. I was the stupid middle kid.”

Haas dropped out of Saint John’s College in Annapolis during her second yearto get married and later moved with her husband, Raymond Haas, to North Dakota where he had purchased land to start a farm. There, she joined the Northern Plains Indian Teacher Corps. and learned the Lakota language while living on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

In 1974, Haas and her husband moved back to Maryland, where they both taught at Key School. Haas worked at Key School for 44 years before retiring at 78.

She started taking writing classes at Anne Arundel Community College in 2008, in secret at first because she worried her husband wouldn’t understand.

Haas raised three daughters with her first husband, who died of cancer in 2010. She now lives in Annapolis with her husband, Robert Feldmann, who she met in 2014 at an event for singles. Feldmann, a former teacher and social worker, encourages her writing and is the first person to read all of the drafts, Haas said.

“It’s Katherine,” Feldman said, describing the book. “She’s a person who has faced adversity and triumphed.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, one of Haas’ daughters pointed to the surging racism some Asian Americans were experiencing and suggested she write about Asian American pride.

“It just flowed and flowed. But what I hadn’t realized is all the pain is stuffed way down so I cried through a whole lot of it,” Haas said. “I finished it, and then I had so many of my relatives and friends look through it.”

Haas’ book was rejected twice by publishers before she discovered Stirred Stories, a Washington, D.C. publisher focused on diverse books.

“Katherine is a testament to what the publishing industry should be: diverse, nuanced, and open to the unexpected,” said Kelsea Johnson, co-founder of Stirred Stories, in a statement. “We’re so glad Katherine recognized that mission and trusted us with her life’s story.

Haas will read from her book at Eastport Annapolis Neck Library on July 24 at 6:30 p.m. and Oct. 19 from 2 p.m. She is spending the week leading up to her reading preparing, testing cookie recipes and worrying if there will be enough space at the library for everyone.

“Her story aims to inspire those who feel out of place, encouraging them to embrace and be proud of their unique identities,” the Anne Arundel County Public Library description of her book reads.

Haas is already thinking about writing another book about her life on the reservation in North Dakota.

“I love being old. I love being alive,” said Haas. “To me, every single day is a real gift.”