They have an autobiographical ring to them. Tsao likes to joke about her numerous experiences of love lost. She told the Taipei Times that she almost killed herself when she was 12 after a boyfriend broke up with her.
"Finally I changed my mind when an idea struck me. I asked myself how I could die before becoming a writer. Not only did I have to become a writer, but I had to make him regret not having the vision to love me," Tsao said.
Another strong message about love conveyed by her inspirational works, however, is that one should never demean a former lover.
"Since you have loved each other, you share at least 80 percent of the same characteristics and ideas. To demean him [or her] suggests you are as lousy as each other," said Tsao.
Her proud and strong approach toward relationships reflects her personality. As her close friend, writer and columnist Po Da-chung (卜大中) says her feminine elegance and beauty hide a tough masculine character. Po says she is "transvestite in personality."
Po's remark may be based on sexual stereotypes, but it appears to be true of the discrepancy between Tsao's appearance and personality. Tao is a successful businesswoman in the publishing industry and a tough fighter against cancer.
According to Po, she once even harshly scolded her admirers.
For the past three years, she has been working on an autobiographical novel, whose length and completion time she says she can't predict.
"For a writer, life is always too short to write. I will just try my best during what remains of my life," she said.
Apart from this work in progress, when asked which book she would most like to be remembered for, she replied: "Farewell with all my heart (送君千里), perhaps. Because the novels in this collection are the closest to an ideal art form."
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