This article is part of Mochi’s fall 2024 issue on Resilience, redefined as “finding agency in adversity and fighting for radical change.” We highlight the strength of individuals and communities and their courage in dismantling systems of injustice. Our hope is that you will feel the strength pulsing through these stories and that you also are inspired to pair resilience with actions that lead to real, necessary, and revolutionary change.
“I have no doubt that my parents would have relished having more time as my primary family, the people I thought of as ‘home.’”
In her memoir, “A Living Remedy,” Nicole Chung asks, “How do you learn to cherish yourself, your life, when grief has made it unrecognizable?”
This question gives us a window into the relationship between resilience and grief. Resilience is often associated with words like strength, persistence, tenacity. Most of us believe that resilience is the ability to keep bending, never breaking. It is often predicated on the idea that someone has gone through a challenge and is encouraged by a supposed light at the end of the tunnel, thus building a stronger person. The American Psychological Association describes resilience as “the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences.”
We see this definition in Nicole Chung’s “A Living Remedy: A Memoir,” released in April 2023, a book about her experience navigating life while grieving the loss of her adoptive parents. Chung’s resilience is not about bending without breaking, but about finding ways to navigate life’s challenges. In a conversation with Chung over Zoom, we explored the complexities of writing about such vulnerable experiences and journeying through our grief.
A Vulnerable Writing Process
When we read memoirs like Chung’s, we only see the final product. We often do not see the process behind writing something so personal and vulnerable and the emotional journey that comes…
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