A Lone Pine Road - Atonement

An autobiography by John Soosup Lah, M.D.

서울대 의대 1950년 졸업반

One day in early July of 2016, in my mail box, I found a book sent by Dr. Soosup Lah whom I got to know many years ago through our SNU Medical website. He was then in New York area. He has retired to St. Augustine, FL. I am very grateful that he remembered me somehow.
Inside of the package was a good size book by the name of "A Lone Pine Road: Atonement". It was his autobiography !

Ah, "A Lone Pine Road"...  It sounds so sentimental as if it was a part of our past. Isn't that what we walked along in a foreign country since we left our home long time ago?

It is a story of Dr. Lah, me, and all of us.

In his biography, he describes himself from the very beginning by his family genealogy. Just like any Koreans, including me, would say, he dedicates the autobiography to his father who passed him an unceasing spirit of independent search in life, and to his mother for her sacrificing love, and to his wife for her patience and wisdom.

I agree how truthful what he said are. I, as well as all of us, would not be what we are today without our parents and wives. From the beginning, his story made my eyes warm because his story is more or less our own stories in Korea and America.

From the prologue, the book starts like this...

As it were, human life is a process of weaving a beautiful fabric for each individual. I compare the anguish and torments of life to coloful threads, Without travail, the thread would be without sparkle.
In life's journey, each individual paces through a unique path, intermingled with pleasure and anguish. I termed my path in life as a lone pine road because it seemed that in most of my life's journey, I treaded through them without company. Nevertheless, I never felt lonesome, and I braved innumerable hindrances...

I am not going to describe the rest of the contents. It was so well written. If some of us are to write autobiographies, this book shows the way to go. I am sure Dr. Lah will show you how to publish it if you are ready for it. Well, first of all, go ahead and write a long-overdue autobiography of yours now. Our life stories are one of the most precious and rarest ones among all humanities in the world. To have been born in such a window of time in our history, we were given colorful threads of blessings and curses at the same time, so that we can weave beautiful fabrics (as Dr. Lah has poetically said).  In other words, we have been given a chance and materials to write unforgettable stories that only a few can do.
Please don't let your stories go unwritten and unheard.

Incidentally, I could not believe how such unexpected coincidences are with us.

Not only that I was born in North Korea, but, in a month, I will be heading literally to the town of "Lone Pine" in California for a summit climb of Mount Whitney, the highest in the lower 48 states. I consider my attempt to the climb an "atonement of some sort" of my mountain climbing career that had been "truly a lone pine road" and is about to come to an end very soon.

오늘 전화 걸어서 책을 어디에서 살수있는가 여쭈었더니, 나수섭 선배님께서 현재 여분의 책을 갖고 계시다 합니다. 누가 요청한다면 아직 여분이 있는 경우그냥 보내줄 수 있다하십니다. 아래에 주소,  E-Mail이 있으니 거기로 연락하시면 됩니다.

나수섭, John Soosup Lah, M.D.
(SNU Medical class of 1950, Internal Medicine, Retired)
jslah2228@gmail.com

608 Copperhead Circle St. Augustine, FL 32092
443-278-3445