Stressing that she has no Aboriginal background, Hsieh is obliged to mention her happy childhood when explaining her creative development. Born in 1964, she grew up in an impoverished rural village, at one with the fertile orchards in her back yard. She would pluck fruit from a tree when hungry or tie together a crude treehouse to make a temporary sanctuary.
強調沒有原住民背景的謝麗香，在解說自己的創作歷程時，必提到她愉快的童年：出生於民國 53 年的她，從小生長在貧窮的農村裡，卻幾乎與後院一片豐饒的果樹林融成一體；餓了，就爬上樹摘水果吃，或是順著樹幹的動線綁出簡陋的樹屋，當成臨時的庇護所。