Wu, who is an avid reader, lost herself in a biography of Albert Schweitzer. Schweitzer's medical service in Africa inspired Wu. "So one can lead a different life," she says.
喜愛閱讀的吳玉琴深深沈浸在《史懷哲傳》中，史懷哲到非洲行醫的義行，點亮她的心燈，「原來生命可以這樣過，」從此吳玉琴立下「利他主義」的人生觀，決定轉到社會系從事助人事業。