Very few stories are about women who quietly achieve great things. These women believe their stories are not important to others, maybe only to her immediate family and friends. They do not believe that they have achieved outstanding milestones. They believe their patience and perseverance was simply blessed with luck.
Sometimes, these women are ashamed of what they had to go through in life and do not want others to know. But when an outsider learns about what they have done, how they have done it, and the immense dedication and resolution these women must have within to achieve a better life, then outsiders are in awe and wonder. What would I have done if I had been in her shoes? When the outsider is a writer, then she must write these women's stories.
Lucky I was the day I met one of these outstanding women. She is Choon-Ok Harmon, the martial arts instructor of my sons. She did not want her personal story to become public. She did not want anybody to know about the endless obstacles she had to overcome and her most traumatic personal secrets. But one day, after much prodding from her daughters, she agreed to place her concerns aside and tell me her story.
We have written a book together, The Iron Butterfly.
She is living proof that 'when there is a will, there is a way."
"Giving up is not an option."