…how my college reunion changed me
Call me sentimental, but I love attending my college reunions. This month, I returned to my alma mater, Smith College, to celebrate a milestone forty years since I left the gates of academia to venture into adulthood. Who was I like then? Who am I today? Is there a version of myself I can reimagine now that I’m almost 62?
Reunions have a way of helping me reflect on the deeper questions of identity, choices, and how I want to live my life going forward. I am inspired by the strong female friendships that have thrived over the years, and the accomplishments and generosity of my classmates—some of whom I hadn’t seen since college and many whom I never knew at all. One-third of our class of roughly 600 women showed up, and over Ivy Day, class dinners, and late-night dance parties, we celebrated our journeys and how we want to live the next chapter of our lives.
I came away rejuvenated to continue my path as a late-blooming author and supporting women’s education that has the power to transform lives, as it did mine. I vowed to help aspiring authors, young women who want career and life advice, and give back to a vibrant community whose mission is to educate the whole person, however we want to define ourselves. We are professors, financiers, non-profit professionals, mothers, wives, caregivers, and grandmothers. Education is life-long, and my time back on campus reinforced that we are still evolving as women and as learners.
It was a full-circle moment giving a talk about WHITE MULBERRY to my class and finding it “in the wild” at the college library. I also donated a copy to the alumnae library. My inscription was: “For my alma mater, you helped me make my dream of writing this book come true!” I am humbled and grateful for what my Smith education has given me, and I am committed anew to supporting a woman’s education any way I can.
Mother’s Day
I gifted the Korean edition of my book to my mother for Mother’s Day. It was a joy to see the surprise on her face when she untied the bojagi cloth I had used to wrap my book. My mother is in the middle of reading it in Korean now, and it’s slow going because the small print hurts her eyes. When she had listened to the English version on Audible at seventy-percent speed last year, she said she had a new-found appreciation of her mother-in-law, who inspired WHITE MULBERRY, and how much she had to overcome.
My father had read the English version already, but the Korean translation made him cry. He said it reminded him of how hard his mother’s life was, even though it was fictionalized, and wished he had recognized that more when she was alive. Publishing this book and having it available in Korean has brought a new understanding of our family’s past and bound us closer together. That has been the greatest gift of all.
RED SEAL Progress
My RED SEAL cover is ready, and pre-orders are available now! I would so appreciate it if you ordered your copy today!
People magazine did an exclusive cover reveal and called RED SEAL “sweeping and deeply personal,” which you can read about here. It took multiple rounds and numerous emails with the cover designer to get the image right, but I think it was worth it. I hope you like it!
The map and family tree have also been finalized, so my second book is now complete and ready for production. Phew! Advance Reader Copies will be available soon for early reviews before the October 6 publication date. The NetGalley widget will be available too if you want to read it digitally, and I will provide that in my next newsletter.
Past and Future Events
Earlier this month, I flew up to San Francisco for the day to give a talk with my friend and author Margaret Juhae Lee about eliciting family stories. It was hosted at the illustrious Kepler’s Bookstore in Menlo Park as part of the Bay Area Book Festival, and we had a wonderful turnout. Lunch with fellow writers in the Bay Area was a highlight!
To celebrate AANHPI and Korean Literature Month at the Korean Cultural Center of LA, I had an amazing conversation with author Lisa Lee about being a Korean diaspora author and the influence of Korean literature and culture in our books. I recommend her book American Han below about the unforeseen costs of pursuing the American Dream.
The recording of my virtual book talk at Kauai Writers Conference Online has dropped. Listen to the playback and the opportunity to hear from hundreds of other authors, literary agents, and publishing professionals by signing up.
I will be speaking at the Southwest Manuscripters meeting at the Redondo Beach Library on June 6 about my publishing journey, and I hope to see some local folks there. I’ll also be attending the American Library Association Conference in Chicago from June 25-29. If you’re going, be sure to let me know so we can connect. Check out all my upcoming events on my Events page.
This picture was taken over Memorial Day Weekend in Paso Robles, where Joey joined our wine-tasting adventures! My heartfelt thanks to our veterans who valiantly served our country, including my father-in-law, Cabot Easton.
Have you been to any reunions recently? What did you take away? Leave a comment below to let me know! I always love hearing from you.
What I’m Reading
AMERICAN HAN by Lisa Lee
Both deeply serious and wickedly funny, American Han is a profound story about striving and assimilation, difficult love, and family fidelity. A searing portrait that challenges assumptions about the immigrant experience, Lisa Lee’s debut introduces a powerful new voice on the literary landscape.
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