Kristen 

Toronto

Memories and Legacy

"As a child, I would love watching my mother put on her soft pink hanbok for our New Year celebrations. The hem would kiss the floor as she walked and she would float down the stairs in it as I walked behind her. My eyes would dance along the details of the cherry blossoms, embroidered from the bottom of the dress all the way to the top...where then my eyes would see her beautiful smile. Oh, how I would have loved to see her in that dress once more. But we lost her years ago to breast cancer, as well as the dress. 

That image would often come to mind as I lay in bed, too weak to do much else from the chemo that coursed through my veins - to rid myself of the breast cancer that I now carried. My heart, longing for her comfort while deepening my gratitude for some of her darkest valleys. 

In my recovery, I now imagine her dancing...in a new dress...free from all her sorrow. An image for her, for me, and for my children to know that my story has a different ending. 

Thank you, Jerome for capturing it all."       

- Kristen Kang

- Kristen