Nicole Chung’s debut memoir, ALL YOU CAN EVER KNOW, explored her determination to better understand her adoption and locate her Korean birth family. In her latest book, A LIVING REMEDY, she looks with grace and grit at her upbringing in Oregon and how her American parents’ ideals, ethics and sincerity affected her as she matured and gained a new, occasionally painful perspective on her past.

"Chung's frank, emotive chronicle will touch those who have experienced such child-parent affection, distance and reunion, and those who may see a similar scenario looming."

Raised by a couple whose finances were always unstable (though she didn’t fully grasp it at the time), Chung, a Korean whose frailty at birth resulted in the necessity for adoption, became a notably bright student who was able to go to college on scholarships. Secretly she had been dreaming of leaving the very staid, white corner of Oregon for a place where a more adventurous, varied lifestyle might be attainable.

Three years later, Chung married Dan while both were working and studying in the DC area. Despite caring for her two daughters and working diligently as a writer, she maintained close contact with her parents. When she found out that her father was ill and slowly getting worse with numerous complications, including kidney failure, Chung spent time in Oregon as often as she could, helping to sort out legal, expense and insurance issues. She learned from his passing that “grief comes in waves.” That drew her ever closer to her mother, whose affection she would always cherish. But after a year, her mother also showed signs of critical illness.

Navigating through these trials led Chung to see that America’s health care system has many weak points that particularly affect those with lower income. Her sacrifices on behalf of both parents --- and theirs for her --- form the nexus of this poignant portrait of challenge, loss, sorrow and the power of memory.

Chung, whose writing is widely heralded and appears in such highly respected publications as the New York Times, the Atlantic, Time and the Guardian, brings to this account a sense of the particularity of love --- the many small ways that it can manifest, evoke new feelings and stimulate lasting memories. Honoring the pair who adopted her, she depicts the failings, near-misses and renewed determination that even the smallest loving encounters can elicit. Chung's frank, emotive chronicle will touch those who have experienced such child-parent affection, distance and reunion, and those who may see a similar scenario looming.