Nicole Chung’s recently published memoir, “A Living Remedy,” poignantly captures the heart-wrenching experience of adult children witnessing their parents’ decline and eventual passing, while grappling with the exorbitant costs of medical care in America. The narrative is further complicated by factors such as class, geographical distance, the pandemic, and Chung’s unique situation as an only child and transracial adoptee—a topic she explored in her previous best-selling memoir, “All You Can Ever Know.”
Initially hesitant as a mother by adoption, I was drawn to Chung’s first memoir, where she candidly confronted the challenges of transracial adoption while expressing a deep love for her adoptive parents—the same parents she now mourns in “A Living Remedy.” The book delves into the theme of class identity, which plays a more significant role than racial identity or adoption in shaping the events chronicled. Despite her parents’ claim of being middle class, their precarious work history with unstable health benefits placed them squarely in the working class. This financial struggle leads Chung to reflect on the fragile nature of their supposed stability, a precarious facade common to many American families dependent on everything going smoothly.
Chung’s writing is marked by straightforwardness rather than poetic beauty, but it gains power through her sincere and direct sentences, which effectively convey the shame and challenges faced by the adult child in such a situation. She shares her experience as a teenager, awarded a scholarship to college, and embarking on a successful career and family life. Despite these achievements, she finds herself unable to visit her ailing parents frequently due to financial constraints.
The memoir unveils the predicament of class-climbers like Chung, who possess cultural capital but lack financial resources. Despite her fortunate circumstances, she is unable to provide all the help she wishes for her loved ones. The helplessness and guilt of not being able to alleviate their hardship weigh heavily on her.
Chung recounts the tragic passing of her father, who succumbed to diabetes, renal failure, and years of postponed medical check-ups. Shortly thereafter, her mother faces a recurrence of cancer and ultimately passes away, a loss that is further complicated by the pandemic, preventing her from being physically present during her mother’s final moments.
“A Living Remedy” serves as a powerful testimony to the flaws in the American health-care system and the limitations faced by ordinary individuals when trying to support their loved ones. The anger and helplessness emanating from Chung’s pages evokes the sentiment expressed in Thom Gunn’s poem about the AIDS epidemic, where the reality of mortality becomes overwhelming and the ability to protect our loved ones seems woefully inadequate.
Format: 256 pages, Hardcover
Published: April 4, 2023 by Ecco
ISBN: 9780063031616 (ISBN10: 0063031612)
Language: English
Available at Amazon (click to purchase)
