Now, being a girl, I was ashamed of my body and my lack of strength. So I tried to be a man. I shot, rode, jumped, and took part in all the fights of the boys.

So I had to be the doctor to these wounded men until we could remove them to the hospital. There were fifty-four women and forty little boys with the Red Army prisoners, and I went daily to take care of them also.

Like all my family and class, I considered it a sign of weakness to show affection; to have been caught kissing my mother would have been a disgrace, and to have shown affection for my father would have been a disaster.

But I see no reason why a woman should not grow and develop in all those outlets which are suited to her nature, it matters not at all what they may be.

But settled things were enemies to me and soon lost their newness and color. The unknown called.

For the first week of the Sian events I was a first aid worker in the streets of Sian.

And the woman who could win the respect of man was often the woman who could knock him down with her bare fists and sit on him until he yelled for help.