Bay Area Woman stars in one-woman show about mom's plastic surgery death

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- ABC-7 is celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month this month. Tuesday, we heard the compelling life story of Susan Lieu, a Vietnamese-American woman who grew up in the Bay Area and now resides in Seattle.

Lieu created and stars in a one-woman show, "140 Pounds."

It is the unfortunate true story of how Lieu's mother, Jennifer Ha, went in for plastic surgery and died due to a malpractice incident. Susan was 11-years-old. The doctor had a San Francisco office and had advertised heavily in Vietnamese media, touting his experience in the Vietnamese War. The community trusted him. The family would learn after Ha's death that the doctor was already on probation when he operated on Ha.

Lieu had so many unanswered questions. She also wanted to examine the impact of her mother's death on the family, her body insecurity and shame and the lack of accountability in the medical system. Her show is a leap of faith for the former management consultant and entrepreneur. She and her sister co-founded Socola Chocolatier in San Francisco, making gourmet chocolates with Asian flavors like passion fruit and lychee.

You can catch her performances at the Marsh in the San Francisco Mission on 5/15 and 5/25. Tickets.