year of impossible goodbyes by sook nyul choi

Luckily, those key words lead me to Sook Nyul Choi’s beautifully crafted story. The problem was that I could not remember the title except for the words impossible and goodbye. I listened to that audiobook and my memory of this historical fiction recommendation was jarred. Several years ago I heard about Escape from Camp 14 on one of my favorite podcasts Books on the Nightstand. I never forgot how passionately they talked about this story. They liked reading, but were particular about what books they would recommend whole-heartedly. The group of children who were such fans of this Korean’s family struggle at the end of WWII happen to be among some of my favorite children I’ve taught over the years. I overlooked and dismissed too many books. My one mistake was glancing through my “to-be-read” binder too quickly. When I started cataloguing online all of my reading, I was so relieved. A truly official and highly organized system of chaos. A fine collection of paper napkins covered with ink-smeared writing of book titles and author names. I had a binder system of book lists, articles, notes, post-its. I remember the students telling me that they couldn’t tell me too much without ruining the story and I remember writing the book title down. Years ago, students had enthusiastically recommended this book to me. If I could give this novel more than five stars, I would! I can’t believe how long it has taken me to read this distressing, but uplifting piece of historical fiction that reminds me of how precious freedom is.

Year of impossible goodbyes by sook nyul choi