May is the daughter of Chinese immigrants impacted by Canada's Chinese Immigration Act 1923. Their disjointed lives are chronicled in A Cowherd in Paradise (2012). With degrees from McGill University and the University of Victoria, her work and volunteer activities focused on improving the lives of people in need. She started writing after retiring from the BC Public Service. Her second book was published in 2018: City in Colour; Rediscovered Stories of Victoria's Multicultural Past. Her creativity is also expressed through sewing, knitting (much of it donated), water colour painting, and cooking. At the age of 58, she and her husband of 43 years, started to learn Kenpo Karate. She earned her second degree black belt as a senior.
