By Alex Ness
February 24, 2021
SEOUL GIRL by Ann Baron
THE CAMPAIGN
When I found out that Mike Baron's wife had written a book I wanted to know more. I knew very little about her, but saw things that suggested to me she was adopted and from Asia. I know from also being adopted that even being from the same cultural identity, or the same nationality group that adoption can be hard. In my case, while it would be true to say I felt like an outsider, it would also be true to say that until my DNA family searched for me I hadn't really given much thought to the people who I was connected to by blood. My wider family, aunts, uncles, and cousins gave me what I am sure would be considered to be a complete family experience, so, I was not missing anything. Now I understood and understand still, that adoption can be great, and often is. But there is also a lot to consider before doing it. Not everyone comes with an instruction booklet how to be raised or cared for.
And so, with my own life in view, I asked Mike to ask Ann if she'd like to have me consider her work here, and asked her a number of questions about it. This is what I asked, and it is followed by what she responded with...
Ann, Please tell me all about your book. How did you experience being an adoptee, and how did it affect your future life? How can I help you get the word out?
Hi and thanks Alex, and thanks Mike for the introduction
The book is “Seoul Girl” Lost then Found (Story of a Korean adoptee and her journey from South Korea to the USA).
The warmth of the Colorado sun comes through the windows as I savor my morning coffee with my loving husband and puppies around me. I have a good life. Going back about 60 years ago a small, scrawny baby was left at the front door of an orphanage many miles away in a crowded city of Seoul, South Korea. That fragile baby hanging on to a thread of life was named Adela Kim. And this is my journey from South Korea to America. From feeling Abandoned to feeling Loved.
Truly, the story started before I was born with the Korean War in the 1950’s. During this time many babies were born out of wedlock or left orphans due to the war. A couple named Harry and Bertha Holt were touched and moved by the stories out of South Korea of many homeless babies. Traveling to Korea and seeing the huge need for families for these children they started an orphanage called Holt Adoption.
I was born on June 10, 1960. These orphanages were started by the Holts on their own money and in war torn places, where many abandoned babies died. God had His hand in my life and I not only survived but I flourished. There was a plan and a purpose for my life that would unfold many decades later. The huge blessing showered on me by God would not completely sink in until I was an adult.
Buy her book and support the campaign by clicking this link THE CAMPAIGN
As I am someone who writes from a personal perspective, people often ask what I collect, as it is almost a trump card to the former question people would ask, what are your favorite works. That is, it suggests that the people wanting to know what I do collect are saying, "What things do you actually buy versus what do you actually like." I suppose there is a financial factual basis about this, things I am willing to pay for, means I have paid what little I have in order to build my collection versus what do I get free or what have I read that I don't, apparently, like enough to follow and buy. A second ongoing question I receive often, in a world where film, videos, tv and all sorts of media that provides easy and immediate gratification, why would I choose the time consuming and limited options of reading materials.
In 2019 I read a study that showed that the average American has stopped reading as a practice for pleasure. And also that reading has become more and more a behavior by the elite, the bright, the well educated, and the mentally hungry person. Reading has therefore become less and less a behavior by people with access to cell phones, internet, netflix, on demand entertainment, and those who pursue different forms of entertain that work in ways that do not require reading, reading skills, or education. I don't always believe polls like this, but, if you look at the impact of hand held phones and chat culture, reading has become something people do because they have to, rather than because they want to do so.
I write often that I collect a few things, but particularly books. However, due to the cancer fight in 2013 I had to sell most of any collections I've gathered over time previous. So, having had to use proceeds from the sale of those collections to pay for bills, copays and procedures, I don't have many untouched collections, or even, partial collections. I used to have many nice things. But life can have a cost. As a person who covered comics I also had gathered comic book collections and comic book tpbs, and most all of those went to pay for those very same costs, cancer sucks. The cancer fight cost a great deal of money. And as a person who has never paid anyone to publish my work, I still have to raise funds to by copies of my work to sell. As such, with all sorts of life costs and things I've had to do to pay for my creative life, I am writing this as a person who USED to own a great couple of collections of books and comics.
I offer here the books that excite me to find at used book stores, because they fit a certain taste area, and in ways, due to them being considered outrageous or not politically correct, there is a desire to buy and keep them so no one removes them from the world of literature. I am not some right wing nut, I am not a Trump voter. But as a historian I get really outraged by the people who think I should be protected from being exposed to the thoughts or outlook of others. So for me these books present manners in how a subject is seen at one time, and as a person with degrees in history, I see the world not in terms of the political divide but in eras of time, perspectives based upon the world known at the time, and concepts of how the world perceived itself at the time. They provide an illustration of a time, I don't presume that they are accurate.
And yes, the heroes are usually white males, and yes they often used violence to save the day. They weren't flawed and introspective, and they were meant to be different than the normal person, these are the men who save the day, heroes, not just dark vigilante or anti heroes, they want to change the world for the better. I am by no means suggesting these characters/books would please or satisfy anyone else. They fit my taste range, but also, they reward a certain way I experienced life as a child and teen... they are a comfort food in the way you know something tastes good, but is likely not healthy. You consume it to enjoy something that is unclouded by the concerns of the world of the present.
MORE INFORMATION:
The Avenger
Doc Savage, Man of Bronze
The Shadow
The Spider
The Phantom
Green Hornet
Flash Gordon
Buck Rogers
Fu Manchu
Sexton Blake
ABOUT GETTING REVIEWS FROM ME
First off, I can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email at Alexanderness63@gmail.com.
I accept hard copies, so when you inquire at any of these places, I'll
follow through by telling you my street address. I no longer have a post
box, although I regret that. It was a crushing defeat to no longer have
a p.o. box, when I came to realize I was getting so little product it
made no sense to pay for the privilege to not receive mail at both my
home and at the post office. If you send hard copies for review I will
always review them, but if you prefer to send pdf or ebooks to my email,
I will review these at my discretion. I don't share my pdf/ebooks, so
you can avoid worry that I'd dispense them for free to others.
My Poetry Blog alexnesspoetry.blogspot.com
Published alexnesspoetry.blogspot.com/2007/01/My-Work.html
My Amazon Page Amazon.com/author/AlexNess
Lovecraft Horror cthulhudarkness.blogspot.com
Atlantis MU, Lemuria alexnesslostworlds.blogspot.com
Jean de La Bruyère "Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think".
No comments:
Post a Comment