I'm always excited when I get to host a new author here on my blog and today is no different. I met Ray Wong many years ago in San Diego and we have stayed in touch--as writers do--through email since then. Ray writes heartfelt stories about family and heritage and I think he's one of the most talented writers I've ever met. Recently he was seletected to contribute a story to two new
Chicken Soup for the Soul books: Thanks Mom and
Thanks Dad. These make great Mother's and Father's day gifts, so be sure to see the end of the contest at the end--by one and be entered for another!
The best way to buy these Chicken Soup for the Soul books? Go to
http://www.raywong.info/ and scroll down to the buy link at the bottom. Ray will personalize the inscription and send your autographd copy!
So, without further ado....meet Ray!
Ray M. Wong believes that the heart of who we are is captured in a single word – family. It’s the source of our deepest wounds and it’s our greatest strength. This is a theme that weaves through his work. It’s why he writes a column called “Family Matters,” which appears in three U.S. newspapers. This theme is also apparent in the stories he published in two recent books – “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom” (March 2010) and “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Dad” (April 2010). Wong is a freelance writer for the “San Diego Union Tribune,” “San Diego Family” magazine and other publications. To see more of his work, visit his website
http://www.raywong.info/.
In 1996, Wong took a trip with his mother to Hong Kong and Mainland China. The journey changed his life and inspired him to write a memoir. He went from being an isolated and self-absorbed person to a man who would come to value his family above all else.
An excerpt from his memoir appears in “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom.” Accompanied by his mother, Wong visits his grandparents’ gravesite in a small rural town called Tai Shan. At the foot of his ancestors’ headstone, he experiences a spiritual awakening about the grandparents he never met, the mother he never appreciated and the life he took for granted.
The story is about peeling off the layers of pretense, releasing the blame and embracing an unwavering truth. Readers will be taken to China, and they will be touched by a man who painstakingly comes to understand his mother for the first time.
Readers who purchase a book through Ray's website
http://www.raywong.info/ (scroll down to see the covers and buy link) between now and June 20th will be entered to win a “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings” book.
7 comments:
Thanks for bringing other authors to our attention. It seems that we all read the same authors again and again. His sounds like a story we all should read.
Thanks for the recommendation! Memoir is such an amazing genre. I am an editor who works with people writing memoirs and family histories. i find that most of them find the experience of creating a memoir much like Wong's "life transforming journey." Whether they take a literal journey or not, the process of creating a memoir is a unique creative experience of exploration and self-discovery. Ray Wong's experience illustrates why it is so rewarding.
Thanks for bringing Ray to my attention. I love Chicken Soup for the Soul books. I would love to win both or For Mom if only one.. Thanks for this opportunity to enter the giveaway.
misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com
Hi, Erin,
I love your blog! You continue to be an inspiration because you are such a fantastic writer, and you have helped me tremendously with the business end of writing too. I take my hat off to you! -- Ray Wong
Gram,
Thanks for your comment! I've spent much of my life blaming my mom for perceived wrongs. I think my trip to Hong Kong and Mainland China in 1996 helped me to see her in a different light. In the past, she was just my mother, someone I took for granted. I couldn't comprehend all the things she went through just to get to this country. I know some of those things now as a result of the trip, and I am forever grateful to her. It's a profound privilege for me to publish a story that I can dedicate to a remarkable woman -- my mom.
Biff Barnes,
Thanks for speaking to the power of memoir. Before my trip to Hong Kong, I had never written a book and didn't know if I had it in me. The journey gave me something I needed to write about, and I didn't stop until the book was finished. Writing it helped me to capture a profound personal experience, and it's an honor to see an excerpt in "Chicken Soup for the Soul." -- Ray Wong
Miss Kallie 2000,
Thank you for writing! The "Chicken Soup" books nurture our souls. That's how I feel when I read them because they are so heartfelt and inspirational. -- Ray Wong
love chicken soup for the soul books
Thanks, Blackroze37yahoo, for leaving a comment about "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books. Their motto is "Changing the world one story at a time" and it is so true!
Ray M. Wong
Is this the same Ray Wong, I met at Kobeys,had a store and went to my first Comic-con in 1984 ? If so how are you ? I still live in san diego. Mark
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