![]() ![]() When Kim bursts out from her hiding place in sheer terror, her uncle grabs her and punishes her by taking a lit match to her genitals and buttocks. Deemed an “honor killing,” Kim’s Omma pays the ultimate price for disgracing the family by giving birth to a honhyol, a mixed child out of wedlock – a nonperson. It opens with the young Kim in Korea bearing witness to the murder of her beloved mother by her own grandfather and uncle. ![]() The spare work is a tribute to human endurance. ![]() The result is the critically acclaimed Ten Thousand Sorrows: The Extraordinary Journey of a Korean War Orphan. Surprised that anyone would want to read her story, Kim nevertheless spent the next year writing about her tragic, difficult life. She took the idea to Doubleday, secured a lucrative book deal – reportedly in the mid-six figures – and presented the contract to Kim. After exchanging life stories, agent Patti Breitman recognized a potentially bestselling memoir. What began as a casual lunch in San Francisco with a then-business acquaintance ended in a cathartic literary accomplishment for journalist Elizabeth Kim. ![]()
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