2022.10.
This book was recommended by Joan of Arc of the Saeyeodok community. Over five years, the author worked as a documentary director for KBS's "Documentary 3 Days" and tvN's "You Quiz on the Block," and shares episodes about the people she met during that time and what she felt and thought as she met them.
Anyone will be able to find something to relate to in their stories. At least one story is my own story, or my family's story, or my neighbor's story. As I listened in the author's voice to both the amusing stories and the deeply moving ones, I finished the whole book quickly.
I share a few stories that resonated with me especially. Perhaps because I am raising children, the story of a father who loves and cherishes his adolescent daughter yet has no conversation with her left a deep impression. Because family is so close, we assume they will know everything even without being told, and when they do not know our hearts we feel more hurt than we would by a stranger. But the reality is that if you do not talk, you do not know. It only deepens the rift of misunderstanding.
The patients in the hospice ward also left a deep resonance. The hospice ward was, rather, lively. There was no one passing the time in fear of death; filling each day with what could be done today—no, with what they wanted to do now—such as watering the flowerpots, writing letters to one another, and sharing their hearts. That this is happiness. That this is a life with no regrets.
It was a passage excerpted from an essay by Kim Hoon (probably—I'm relying on memory since I've already returned the book): "When an ambulance races down the road making a loud noise, I feel relieved that young people are rushing so urgently for someone, to save someone's life. I feel that goodwill is still alive in society, that justice is still alive." I relate to this. I had never thought of it that way, and now I see it from a different angle. I once again feel grateful, thinking how police cars and fire trucks too must be dashing breathlessly out of goodwill to save others, and I feel that there is still hope in our society.
This is not all—there are many more stories within, so I recommend giving it a read. ★★★★/5