Lori's Reviews > A Living Remedy: A Memoir

"A Living Remedy" is a deeply personal recollection of grief and loss, told from the perspective of Nicole Chung.

Despite growing up in what some might a difficult childhood, Nicole Chung knew she was loved by her adoptive parents. She's raised in Oregon where she knows she doesn't look like everyone else including her parents, given her Korean heritage, but also watches as her parents struggle with life in the disappearing "middle class". Her father, working in various restaurants, struggles with the income his job is able to bring in, and Nicole witness first-hand the anxieties and pressures that money brings. Driven by this, Nicole works hard to gain access to higher education, and a scholarship to Johns Hopkins means she's able to leave her hometown and achieve the life her parents hoped she could have.

The family is unprepared for when Nicole's father's diabetes quickly spirals into kidney failure - an event that quickly spirals to his death. It's a jarring, life-changing event, and highlights not only the grief and loss from losing a father, but the pitfalls of the American healthcare system and how discriminatory it is to financially disadvantaged individuals. Nicole is barely able to move forward when her mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer - right before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is in this scenario when Nicole not only has to struggle with the impending loss of her second parent, but navigating it in the midst of a global pandemic when all her interactions with her mother are remote and virtual.

"A Living Memoir" is a beautiful testament to Nicole's parents, a collection of memories and events that demonstrate the love they had for her and for each other. It's a harsh coming of age, cemented by hardship, grief, and loss and the ways they shape and continue to impact us in the present - in the constant financial anxiety that Nicole still can't shake off to the fear of losing even more loved ones. It's also a triumph of love and family, as these are the things that continue to keep us moving forward, no matter what comes our way.

This is not an easy read, but one that I think many will come to appreciate.

Thank you Ecco Publishing for the advance copy of this novel!