The Seagull's Gardener: My Father's Last Odyssey

by Pam Chun

Overview

In the early 1900s Woody grew up running barefoot in the lush valleys of Territorial Hawaii. From camping at Kailua Beach with his buddies to raising his family, he's immersed in the dynamic changes of the Paradise of the Pacific. As he approaches ninety, he insists he's too busy to die. A tale told within tales with photos of Old Hawaii, signature dishes, and unforgettable dreams, Pam Chun's lyrical memoir of her father describes their bond across time and distance. He wails at aging while trotting the globe and passionately tending his gardens. She's frustrated by caring for him from 3,000 miles away, relatives who don't agree on his care, don't approve of her, and issues she didn't think she'd face.

Includes family photos never before published and favorite family recipes.

Includes 10 Things I learned about Distance Caregiving

Includes Nation-wide Caregiving Resources and specialized Hawaii resources.

Advance praise for The Seagull's Gardener.
"The Seagull's Gardener is a compelling and sensitive read - appropriate for all of us in or approaching the Baby Boomer generation with parents whose independence is being threatened by health issues. Pam weaves the reader through the realities of long-distance caregiving. These questions -- Should I be doing more? Why can't my sibling help when he/she isn't working or lives so much closer to Dad/Mom? Where can I find reliable help when I'm so far away? -- will be familiar if you have cared for a frail elderly loved one. The resources provided in this book will help many families who are still facing this chapter in their lives."
-- Joyce Newport, President and CEO, Right at Home of Mt. Diablo

Product Details

BN ID:	2940033138487
Publisher:	Pam Chun
Publication date:	03/30/2012
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	624 KB

About the Author

Best-selling author Pam Chun's award-winning first novel, THE MONEY DRAGON, was named one of 2002's Best Books of Hawaii. In 2003, her novel received a Ka Palapala Po'okela Award for Excellence in Literature.

Pam Chun has been featured on National Public Radio, at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., at the National Archives and Records Administration's Conference on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and in the documentary,HAWAII'S CHINATOWN, which premiered on Hawaii PBS. Pam has been a speaker at Alameda's first Literary Festival for readers, San Francisco's first Litquake, the San Francisco Writer's Conference, the Bamboo Ridge Writer's Workshop, and many universities. Multi-page interviews of Pam and her publications appear in The San Francisco Chronicle, The Honolulu Advertiser, The Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the Seattle International Examiner, the South China News (China) and Alameda Magazine. Reviews of her novels have appeared in national publications and internationally. AOLTravel has published her travel articles online.

THE MONEY DRAGON, Pam's first novel, topped the best seller upon its hardback and paperback release. In 2003, her novel received a Kapalapala Po'okela Award for excellence in literature from the Hawaii Book Publisher's Association. An excerpt from THE MONEY DRAGON is included in the anthology Honolulu Stories (2006).

Pam Chun's second novel, WHEN STRANGE GODS CALL, which expanded on one of the scandals of her infamous family, focused on the contemporary clash of cultures in Hawaii and received the 2005 Ka Palapala Po'okela Award for excellence in literature. THE SEAGULL'S GARDENER is a memoir of distance caregiving for her father from 3,000 miles away. Her latest novel is THE PERFECT TEA THIEF.

Pam is a storyteller at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. She was honored as one of 2004's four Outstanding Overseas Chinese by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. She served as fiction judge for the 2007 and 2008 Kiriyama Prize for Pacific Rim Literature

Pam lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Transpac sailor Fred J. Joyce III. She has one son, a U.S. diplomat stationed overseas with his family.