ISBN: 979-8218186210
Genre: Christian. Poems, Prose & Essays
Born and raised in NJ as a second-generation Chinese American, David Yuen received a B.A. from Rutgers University and has been writing poetry along with other writing styles for over twenty years. His works have appeared in other publications including Poetry East and Romantics Quarterly.
Life is a gift. A fleeting, complicated, painful gift. Life holds death, it holds struggle with God, and it holds precious relationships we easily take for granted. And with every event that threatens life as we know it, our perspective on it changes, whether it’s a pandemic, a shift in politics, the tragedy of war, or personal loss. This Too Shall Pass is an exploration of life—sorrowful, mysterious, funny, and beautiful—through a collection of poems, prose, memoir, and commentary written from a mostly Christian perspective. Life is no small thing. Life is no easy thing. Life is uncertain. But one thing is certain about life: it’s miraculous.
Hello David and welcome to Nothing But Books Blog. Tell us more about you.
Besides, when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?
The day I realized that I wasn’t as hated as I thought I was and that I’m loved more than I deserve and that it was okay to be broken because God uses and loves us anyway.
What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?
I enjoy hiking and traveling.
I feel that retreating to nature clears the mind, especially when you do it alone. I'm there hiking by myself, not to accomplish or achieve anything--I'm there just to be there; to come and go as I please. It's the blessing of simply existing.
I feel that travel expands the mind. When you go to a new place, talk to the locals when you can, taste their food, witness their lifestyle, and understand the breadth of the world, it's not only enjoyable but inspiring. But always remember that regardless of where you go, always be sure to bring the people you love with you even when they can't physically be with you.
Is there one particular message or “moral of the story” you hope readers walk away with?
If I were to sum up a “moral of the story” in my current work, it would be this: Life is unique, special, miraculous, and painful and it isn’t as black and white as we like it to be. But whatever life might bring, God is present in it all.
Why do you write the kind of books you do?
When it comes to writing, I enjoy trying out different styles of writing. Sometimes I find myself inspired to write a poem, but when more complicated issues come up, I find that an essay is best to help me work through things. I guess really it depends on what I'm wrestling with at the time whether it's with the extreme holiness of a moment or a tragedy that may not have clear answers.
What impact did your research have on you personally?
A lot of the research I’ve done, at least involving this book, was on a lot of the current events that were happening in the world at the time. Whether it’s politics, war, or even the COVID pandemic, there was always something to look into. Doing all this not only made me more aware of how complicated issues are but also how complicated the human condition is. It also helped me get a greater appreciation of different perspectives outside of my own.
Do you think there’s any reason, in particular, some people have one reaction versus the other when something bad happens in their life?
It's about perspective. When Job went through his afflictions, he only saw a specific side of what he was experiencing, and understandably so. All his friends who tried to "help" had all their perspectives which sounded convincing on some level, but in the end, were not accurate. It was only when God stepped in and challenged Job's perspective that Job had a better idea of how to react to where he was.
Now, obviously, this is an extreme example but sometimes extreme examples are what we need to make sense of things. And regardless of whether God physically manifests to us or not when something bad happens is mostly not the point. The truth is, God is there throughout it all and He's willing to show us the true perspective of things only if we choose to be open to it.
David, thank you so much for stopping by on your book tour.
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2 comments:
Thank you, Paulette. It was an honor to be featured at your blog.
David
Thank you David for stopping by
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