KICKS YOU IN THE GUT –
June 22, 2021 – So, like you just said, this book deals with a lot of heavy issues, especially when it addresses mental illness. Did you consider it cathartic to write? Yes, I did. And now that I’m publicizing it, and it’s out to the world, it’s kind of a new type of catharsis because I’m speaking publicly about having mental illness. And so, this is an opportunity to raise awareness and really come to terms with some of my own bias and stigma about mental illness. Which is why I’ve hidden it for so long.
So, did your mental illness have any impact on writing the story? Did it make it any more difficult? I don’t think it did. Maybe it’s an urban legend, but I’ve heard that people with bipolar disorder have a spark of creativity to them. So, maybe that gave me the creativity to write it, and that’s what I can appreciate about it. I think one thing I can appreciate about mental illness is that it does make you very sensitive, and it can help you become very introspective and gain a lot of insight about yourself and about life — if you put in the effort to do so.
While the book jacket says that it’s a memoir of madness and martial arts, when I read it, I really thought, ultimately, it’s about finding joy in something. Would you like to speak to that? Yeah, I’d love to, and I love the way you phrased it as finding joy because that’s what I found with taekwondo; I found a way to be happy and sustain happiness. I mean, I still have my ups and downs, but I found something that I could truly enjoy. I found a sense of community, of purpose, and it gave me confidence, self-esteem, a sense of responsibility, and contentment. I’m able to deal with the ups and downs of life a little more evenly now.
What ultimately do you hope people will take from this story? I hope a couple of things. I hope they’ll be entertained; it’s always nice to read a good book. I hope they will laugh, as it’s dark, but it’s also funny. And, I hope that it will be an inspiring story. So, for the people who were like me going to work every day and having mental illness, it’ll make them feel like they’re not alone and that there is hope. And even for people who don’t suffer from [mental illness], it’s an interesting slice of life. I think a good memoir is a good human nature story, whether it’s something outrageous like climbing Mount Everest or if it’s just somebody going to work every day and dealing with a personal problem.
