Seaweed and Shamans: Inheriting the Gifts of Grief: Brenda Paik Sunoo: 9788991913035: Amazon.com: Books
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Brenda Paik Sunoo
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Seaweed and Shamans: Inheriting the Gifts of Grief Paperback – April 3, 2006
by Brenda Paik Sunoo (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars 7 customer reviews
Moon Tides: Jeju Island Grannies of the Sea
Brenda Paik Sunoo
5.0 out of 5 stars 9
Hardcover
$60.07 Prime
Vietnam Moment
Brenda Paik Sunoo
5.0 out of 5 stars 3
Paperback
$24.00 Prime
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Brenda Paik Sunoo is a third-generation Korean American writer and photojournalist. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology at University of California, Los Angeles, and her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing degree at Antioch University. Her memoir on loss and healing, "Seaweed and Shamans: Inheriting the Gifts of Grief," has been published in English, Korean, and Vietnamese. She and her husband, Jan, have been living in Hanoi, Vietnam, since 2002. They have one son, David, and a granddaughter, Jolena.
Product details
Paperback: 161 pages
Publisher: Seoul Selection (April 3, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 8991913032
ISBN-13: 978-8991913035
Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.4 x 0.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars 7 customer reviews
More about the author
› Visit Amazon's Brenda Paik Sunoo Page
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Biography
Brenda Paik Sunoo is a third-generation Korean American writer, photojournalist and mixed media printmaker and textile passionista. She has written three books: Seaweed and Shamans---Inheriting the Gifts of Grief; Vietnam Moment; and Moon Tides--Jeju Island Grannies of the Sea. Born and raised in California, she lives in both the United States and Jeju Island, South Korea.
Visit: www.brendasunoo.com
Note: "Seaweed and Shamans--Inheriting the Gifts of Grief" and "Moon Tides--Jeju Island Grannies of the Sea" also are both available as Apple ibooks. Vietnam Moment is available in paperback and via Kindle.
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Customer Reviews
4.1 out of 5 stars
7
4.1 out of 5 stars
5 star 86%
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1 star 14%
Top customer reviews
MSimmons
5.0 out of 5 starsWorth reading!May 31, 2013
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
This book was assigned reading for me and I am glad it was! Brenda's story, and how she was able to live through such a heartbreaking thing and find joy in life again, is something that everyone, even if they have not experienced loss to such a degree, can appreciate and learn from.
One person found this helpful
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K. Helbert
5.0 out of 5 starsSeaweed and Shamans--Inheriting the Gifts of GriefOctober 11, 2006
Format: Paperback
Brenda Paik Sunoo has written a beautiful collection of essays. The gifts she relates to us, inherited along her journey of healing following the tragic death of her beloved teenaged son Tommy are inspiring, touching and lovingly crafted. As a bereaved parent, earlier on than Brenda in my journey, I am heartened and helped by Brenda's warm and hopeful outlook. Yes, the pain is there, but as we work through the grief, acknowledging and receiving the gifts we are given, the pain can become less raw. Peaceful and loving memories come to the forefront and the hurt can be soothed. Brenda's inclusion of Tommy's artwork and writings give him a voice alongside her own and makes us feel glad to have known him through her. The essays strike a lovely balance as they alternately evoke tears, laughter, contemplation and recognition of our own pain as we experience hope for continued healing. Her collection is highly relevant in today's death-denying society, which is permeated with a sad lack of understanding of the prolonged anguish and complex grief of bereaved parents. Seaweed and Shamans is itself a gift--to other bereaved parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, as well as to counselors, healers, and to all it's readers.
3 people found this helpful
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Anne H.
5.0 out of 5 starsBook Is a GiftSeptember 27, 2006
Format: Paperback
If your child suddenly died, what would you do? How would you cope? How would you go on living? Could you ever heal from the loss? These are questions most parents shudder even to contemplate, perhaps out of fear the very thought could tempt fate. Brenda Paik Sunoo did not have to imagine it. In 1994, her youngest of two sons, Tommy Sunoo, collapsed on the basketball court at school, and could not be revived. He was 16, with no known history of health problems. Four years after Tommy's death, Sunoo began to pen her memoirs, distilling her journey through incredible grief. Seaweed and Shamans: Inheriting the Gifts of Grief is a collection of essays that don't just focus on the anguish, however.
As the title suggests, the book explores the unexpected "gifts" that Sunoo, a third-generation Korean American, received as she moved toward healing. A freelance journalist who formerly worked as an editor at the Korea Times Weekly in Los Angeles, Sunoo says she was prompted to write the book because of the frequent comment she would receive when people learned of her loss: "I can't imagine what I would do if it were me."
The book does not provide a road map to recovery for the bereaved. As Sunoo's mentor advised her while she was penning the memoir: "We just want to know what it's been like for you." Her touching descriptions of her final moments with Tommy and the dreams she often still has of him will likely evoke tears, but the feeling you come away with after reading Seaweed and Shamans is hopeful. Indeed, there are even moments that will make you laugh. Because none of us will escape life unscathed by the loss of someone we love, Sunoo's story is a universally meaningful one. It is her gift -- perhaps, Tommy's, too -- to us.
--J. Ha, Contributing Editor, KoreAm Journal magazine
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3 people found this helpful
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Roxie H.
5.0 out of 5 starsProfoundly movingJune 17, 2013
Format: Paperback
Written with humor and candor, Brenda Paik Sunoo sweeps the readers effortlessly into her journey of grief. You will laugh out loud, weep, shake your head in disbelief, nod approvingly, and feel transformed. Ms. Sunoo masterfully weaves her bicultural heritage and parenting of adolescent boys into her journey. Particularly illuminating is her chapter on what not to say to someone who is grieving. Ms. Sunoo effectively dispels the myth of the linearity of grief stages. A must-read for anyone who has been touched by grief and loss. For anyone who is a supporting a loved one in the journey of grief, this book will illuminate the complexities of grieving. A great big thank you to Ms. Sunoo for her courage and generosity in sharing her story with her readers!
One person found this helpful
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Ella B. Lane
5.0 out of 5 starsA Gift of LoveSeptember 22, 2006
Format: Paperback
This book is obviously such a gift of love.....born from love for her son, her family, and life itself, and offered in love to anyone who is fortunate enough to read it.
I've not had a child to die, but my own mother did....and, of course, many mothers have. I now feel I have a better understanding, after reading this story, of the devastating pain of the sudden death of a child and a better understanding of my mother who had a similar experience the year before my own birth.
This book is so inspiring! Yes, the story is tragic, but never depressing. Ms. Sunoo's humor and zest for living shines through her darkest moments. I feel a lot of gratitude to her for having the courage to write her story and for showing me that there IS life after death.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is fortunate enough to encounter it.
3 people found this helpful
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Darcy C. Fallon
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is a gorgeously written bookSeptember 24, 2006
Format: Paperback
Brenda Paik Sunoo's moving story of how she and her husband came to terms with the death of their teen-age son is a must read for anyone who has loved somebody deeply, then lost him or her. I found her book deeply moving, funny, honest, and relevant. Paik Sunoo weaves together a compelling narrative of how she tried to put her life back together after the unthinkable happened. The book could have been a maudlin, sentimental account, but in Paik Sunoo's hands, this is a book about how love can leave us raw but also open to taking risks--no matter the price.
2 people found this helpful
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Michelle Noullet
1.0 out of 5 starsBeautiful writingNovember 4, 2006
Format: Paperback
I spent an entire weekend reading this book, not able to put it down, crying and laughing and feeling the wonder of life in the horror of a mother's greatest loss. This is "comfort food"for anyone who has every lost someone, a hand to hold through one's own sadness.
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--J. Ha, Contributing Editor, KoreAm Journal magazine
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3 people found this helpful
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Roxie H.
5.0 out of 5 starsProfoundly movingJune 17, 2013
Format: Paperback
Written with humor and candor, Brenda Paik Sunoo sweeps the readers effortlessly into her journey of grief. You will laugh out loud, weep, shake your head in disbelief, nod approvingly, and feel transformed. Ms. Sunoo masterfully weaves her bicultural heritage and parenting of adolescent boys into her journey. Particularly illuminating is her chapter on what not to say to someone who is grieving. Ms. Sunoo effectively dispels the myth of the linearity of grief stages. A must-read for anyone who has been touched by grief and loss. For anyone who is a supporting a loved one in the journey of grief, this book will illuminate the complexities of grieving. A great big thank you to Ms. Sunoo for her courage and generosity in sharing her story with her readers!
One person found this helpful
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Ella B. Lane
5.0 out of 5 starsA Gift of LoveSeptember 22, 2006
Format: Paperback
This book is obviously such a gift of love.....born from love for her son, her family, and life itself, and offered in love to anyone who is fortunate enough to read it.
I've not had a child to die, but my own mother did....and, of course, many mothers have. I now feel I have a better understanding, after reading this story, of the devastating pain of the sudden death of a child and a better understanding of my mother who had a similar experience the year before my own birth.
This book is so inspiring! Yes, the story is tragic, but never depressing. Ms. Sunoo's humor and zest for living shines through her darkest moments. I feel a lot of gratitude to her for having the courage to write her story and for showing me that there IS life after death.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is fortunate enough to encounter it.
3 people found this helpful
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Darcy C. Fallon
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is a gorgeously written bookSeptember 24, 2006
Format: Paperback
Brenda Paik Sunoo's moving story of how she and her husband came to terms with the death of their teen-age son is a must read for anyone who has loved somebody deeply, then lost him or her. I found her book deeply moving, funny, honest, and relevant. Paik Sunoo weaves together a compelling narrative of how she tried to put her life back together after the unthinkable happened. The book could have been a maudlin, sentimental account, but in Paik Sunoo's hands, this is a book about how love can leave us raw but also open to taking risks--no matter the price.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful|Comment|Report abuse
Michelle Noullet
1.0 out of 5 starsBeautiful writingNovember 4, 2006
Format: Paperback
I spent an entire weekend reading this book, not able to put it down, crying and laughing and feeling the wonder of life in the horror of a mother's greatest loss. This is "comfort food"for anyone who has every lost someone, a hand to hold through one's own sadness.
Helpful|Comment|Report abuse
See all 7 reviews
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