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The co-op bookstore for avid readers
A Sky of Infinite Blue: A Japanese Immigrant's Search for Home and Self
Silver Medal Winner:Benjamin Franklin Award -Religion (2023)
Gold Medal in Women's Literature, Next Generation Indie Book Award
"Beautiful Story of endurance and hope, reminding women to seek the same. Wonderful cover design and layout. The author's ability to inspire readers is exceptional."--Tisha Martin, Next Generation Indie Book Award Judge From an early age, Kyomi's life was filled with emotional difficulties--an adulterous father, an overreliant mother, and a dismissive extended family. In an effort to escape the darkness of her existence in Japan, Kyomi moved to the States in February 1990 to start a new life as a researcher working at NIH in Bethesda, MD. Soon, she fell in love with her husband-to-be: Patrick, a warm, charismatic British cancer researcher whose unconditional love and support helped her begin to heal the traumas of her past. Eventually, their journey together led them to change their careers and move to San Diego, CA, where they dedicated themselves to a Buddhism practice that changed both their lives--aiding them in their spiritual growth and in realizing their desire to help others. Then Patrick was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic melanoma in the brain--and, after a fierce, three-year-long battle against his cancer, died on July 4, 2016. Devastated, Kyomi spent a year lost in grief. But when she one day began to write, she discovered that doing so allowed her to uncover truths about herself, her life history, and her relationship with Patrick. In the process, she surfaced many old, unhealed wounds--but ultimately writing became her daily spiritual practice, and many truths emerged out of the darkness. After many years of struggle and searching, Kyomi finally found the love and light that had existed within her all along.
"Beautiful Story of endurance and hope, reminding women to seek the same. Wonderful cover design and layout. The author's ability to inspire readers is exceptional."--Tisha Martin, Next Generation Indie Book Award Judge From an early age, Kyomi's life was filled with emotional difficulties--an adulterous father, an overreliant mother, and a dismissive extended family. In an effort to escape the darkness of her existence in Japan, Kyomi moved to the States in February 1990 to start a new life as a researcher working at NIH in Bethesda, MD. Soon, she fell in love with her husband-to-be: Patrick, a warm, charismatic British cancer researcher whose unconditional love and support helped her begin to heal the traumas of her past. Eventually, their journey together led them to change their careers and move to San Diego, CA, where they dedicated themselves to a Buddhism practice that changed both their lives--aiding them in their spiritual growth and in realizing their desire to help others. Then Patrick was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic melanoma in the brain--and, after a fierce, three-year-long battle against his cancer, died on July 4, 2016. Devastated, Kyomi spent a year lost in grief. But when she one day began to write, she discovered that doing so allowed her to uncover truths about herself, her life history, and her relationship with Patrick. In the process, she surfaced many old, unhealed wounds--but ultimately writing became her daily spiritual practice, and many truths emerged out of the darkness. After many years of struggle and searching, Kyomi finally found the love and light that had existed within her all along.
Book Details
- Publisher: She Writes Press
- Publish Date: Sep 6th, 2022
- Pages: 312
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 8.40in - 5.50in - 1.00in - 0.90lb
- EAN: 9781647422271
- Categories: • Asian & Asian American• Memoirs• Healing - Prayer & Spiritual
About the Author
O'Connor, Kyomi: - Kyomi O'Connor moved to the States from Japan in February 1990 to work as a post-doctoral researcher at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. Soon, she fell in love with her husband-to-be, Patrick. Their journey together led them to change their careers, move to San Diego, and practice Buddhism. They grew spiritually together, and became leaders in their Buddhist community and inseparable partners through the many hardships they faced together. Patrick fell ill in the summer of 2013 with the diagnosis of stage IV metastatic melanoma in the brain, and passed away three years later on July 4, 2016. After his death, writing helped Kyomi rediscover light in her life. These days, she spends her time writing (she's an active writer online at Medium), practicing yoga and Qi Gong, cooking, traveling, and taking photographs. Kyomi lives in San Diego with her two cats, Tommy and Omi.
Praise for this book
2023 NYC Big Book Awards, Winner: Inspiration; Multicultural Nonfiction
2023 Readers' Favorite Book Awards, Finalist: Non-Fiction (Religion/Philosophy)
2023 National Indie Excellence Awards: Finalist in Cancer, Caregiving, Inspiration, and Marriage
2023 IPPY Awards: Silver Medalist, Multicultural Non-Fiction (Adult)
2023 CIBA (Chanticleer International Book Awards): Grand Prize, The Mind & Spirit Award
2023 Eric Hoffer Book Awards Category, Nominated
2023 Nautilus Book Awards, Gold Medal Winner in Multicultural & Indigenous
2023 Independent Press Award, Gold Medal Winner in Death & Dying
2023 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Gold Winner in Women's Literature (Non-Fiction)
2023 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, Silver in Religion
2023 The da Vinci Award of Eric Hoffer Awards, Finalist
2023 Independent Publisher Book Award, Silver in Multicultural Non-fiction
2023 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Mind, Body, and Spirit
2023 Chanticleer International Book Awards, First Place, The Journey Award
2023 Chanticleer International Book Awards, The HEARTEN Award, Finalist
2023 The Indie Book Award, Finalist in Multi-cultural Non-fiction
2022 Fire Bird Award, 1st Place in Mind/Body/Spirit
2022 Foreword INDIES Finalist in Multicultural (Adult Nonfiction)
2022 Fire Bird Award, 1st Place in Multi-cultural Non-fiction
2022 Fire Bird Award, 2nd Place in Grief " . . . a beautiful sense of introspection . . . . [O'Connor's] prose effortlessly encourages readers to invest emotionally in the author's life, and there are many lessons imparted throughout the journey that readers can - and should - take away and implement in their own lives. Overall, A Sky of Infinite Blue is a book written with no small degree of bravery . . . . I cannot imagine someone reading it from cover to cover without feeling moved and enlightened by the experience."-Readers' Favorite
2023 Readers' Favorite Book Awards, Finalist: Non-Fiction (Religion/Philosophy)
2023 National Indie Excellence Awards: Finalist in Cancer, Caregiving, Inspiration, and Marriage
2023 IPPY Awards: Silver Medalist, Multicultural Non-Fiction (Adult)
2023 CIBA (Chanticleer International Book Awards): Grand Prize, The Mind & Spirit Award
2023 Eric Hoffer Book Awards Category, Nominated
2023 Nautilus Book Awards, Gold Medal Winner in Multicultural & Indigenous
2023 Independent Press Award, Gold Medal Winner in Death & Dying
2023 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Gold Winner in Women's Literature (Non-Fiction)
2023 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, Silver in Religion
2023 The da Vinci Award of Eric Hoffer Awards, Finalist
2023 Independent Publisher Book Award, Silver in Multicultural Non-fiction
2023 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Mind, Body, and Spirit
2023 Chanticleer International Book Awards, First Place, The Journey Award
2023 Chanticleer International Book Awards, The HEARTEN Award, Finalist
2023 The Indie Book Award, Finalist in Multi-cultural Non-fiction
2022 Fire Bird Award, 1st Place in Mind/Body/Spirit
2022 Foreword INDIES Finalist in Multicultural (Adult Nonfiction)
2022 Fire Bird Award, 1st Place in Multi-cultural Non-fiction
2022 Fire Bird Award, 2nd Place in Grief " . . . a beautiful sense of introspection . . . . [O'Connor's] prose effortlessly encourages readers to invest emotionally in the author's life, and there are many lessons imparted throughout the journey that readers can - and should - take away and implement in their own lives. Overall, A Sky of Infinite Blue is a book written with no small degree of bravery . . . . I cannot imagine someone reading it from cover to cover without feeling moved and enlightened by the experience."-Readers' Favorite
"Quiet, meditative, and graceful, A Sky of Infinite Blue intertwines a spiritual journey with the personal pursuit of freedom."
--Foreword Reviews, 5/5 stars
"An engaging and poignant immigrant account with sharp, sincere, and tenderly insightful writing."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Kyomi O'Connor deftly weaves personal narrative with spiritual guidance in her unforgettable memoir. Powerful and heartrending, A Sky of Infinite Blue is a soaring account of self-examination and resilience in the face of overwhelming grief, a lantern of spirituality illuminating the darkness."
--Ly Tran, the author of the highly acclaimed memoir House of Sticks
"A remarkable account of a life filled with trials, ultimately leading to spiritual growth, love, and warm-hearted wisdom. I had trouble putting this book down. Kudos to Kyomi O'Connor for a well-told tale of forgiveness, strength, and staying in the moment. I highly recommend A Sky of Infinite Blue."--Lindsey Salatka, award-winning author of Fish Heads and Duck Skin
"Kyomi's poetic and beautiful memoir is a deeply authentic story of her journey to become whole, to claim herself. Her story invites us all to go into the core of our Being and find the spiritual truths that guide us through dark nights of the soul, allow us to see the light."--Linda Joy Myers, President of the National Association of Memoir Writers, author of Don't Call Me Mother and Song of the Plains, and two books on the craft of memoir
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