# Iris Chang Suicide **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 11, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iris-chang-suicide/274285 "2004-11-11T22:26:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iris-chang-suicide/274285/1 "2004-11-11T22:26:19Z")
The author of the books The Rape of Nanking[/ U] and The Chinese in Americawas found dead in her car on a highway in Southern California. SHe apparently recently had a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized and comitted suicide shortly after her release. [Cite](http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/books/11/11/obit.chang.ap/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iris-chang-suicide/274285/2 "2004-11-11T22:51:38Z")
[NITPICK]Actually, she was found in Los Gatos, which is in Northern California[/NITPICK] ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iris-chang-suicide/274285/3 "2004-11-12T01:14:15Z")
Makes me wonder how I would get along after having spent several years enmeshed in the Rape of Nanking. Can’t have been easy. That incident is about as close as I can come to picturing what hell must be like. I was sorry to hear about Ms. Chang. I think she did some important work. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iris-chang-suicide/274285/4 "2004-11-12T10:48:55Z")
I was also very saddened to read of her death this morning. I was even more saddened, though not very surprised, to see the kind of hateful cheering over her death going on at the Japan-oriented message board I used to frequent. Depressing. Here’s an earlier Cafe Society thread discussing her book, [The Rape of Nanking.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=271372&) ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iris-chang-suicide/274285/5 "2004-11-12T11:40:10Z")
I really feel sorry for her young son. I hope he is able to cope with this later in life. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iris-chang-suicide/274285/6 "2004-11-12T13:50:19Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > Here’s an earlier Cafe Society thread discussing her book, [The Rape of Nanking.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=271372&) Because **Sublight’s** link didn’t work for me, here’s another try: [linkie](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=271372&) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iris-chang-suicide/274285/7 "2004-11-12T14:52:04Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > I was also very saddened to read of her death this morning. I was even more saddened, though not very surprised, to see the kind of hateful cheering over her death going on at the Japan-oriented message board I used to frequent. Depressing. > > Here’s an earlier Cafe Society thread discussing her book, [The Rape of Nanking.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=271372&) Pleas give a little insight for the rest of us. Is the feeling that she was inaccurate or were they mad at her bringing up something they would like to forget. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iris-chang-suicide/274285/8 "2004-11-12T15:27:56Z")
I caught a bit about her death on NPR. I want to say that they mentioned something about her having suffered from depression to begin with. Depression, compounded with studying some of the worse things that humans have done to one another may have pushed her over the edge.