Amid the crackle of vinyl records and the nostalgia of Cantonese golden oldies, Holy Lee Hau-yin, a Hong Kong mother of three young children, is spinning a new narrative as a professional disc jockey and turning a page on her troubled past.
After suffering an abusive marriage and the exhaustion of a decade of childcare, Lee will spend Mother’s Day on Sunday with renewed hope. The 28-year-old is set to perform for a private event at The Peninsula Hong Kong hotel and ultimately hopes to make a living from it.
Such an opportunity was once unimaginable for the full-time mother, who said she had mostly spent her prime years caring for her children, now aged 10, eight and six.
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“At that time, I felt so trapped in the reality that I had three children, and that I had to bear the full responsibility for them and make them my priority no matter what,” said Lee, who is recovering from a long history of borderline personality disorder.
Relying on a cocktail of medication to manage her emotions for 14 years until 2024, she recounted a dark episode during her first pregnancy – when she was 19 years old – that turned her life around and made her commit to caring for a life she brought into the world.
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“That was the first time I wanted to commit suicide. I already went up to the roof. But then, I felt the baby kicking in my womb,” she said.
The moment made Lee realise that being a parent was a responsibility that she would have to carry for life.