Dear friends,
I hope these first few months of 2023 have brought rest, festivities, kinship, solitude—and whatever else nourishes you—in good measure. I'm writing to share that my second book, one long listening: a memoir of grief, friendship, and spiritual care will be coming out on April 11, 2023, with the independent nonprofit publisher North Atlantic Books.
I began this book nearly a decade ago, at the start of a yearlong residency in hospital chaplaincy on an oncology unit in Oakland, California, when my college friend Ally Stewart suggested that I write about the experience. Two years later, my dear friend and former college roommate, Amy Frohnmayer Winn, died on an oncology ward in Portland, Oregon, due to complications from Fanconi anemia, the rare genetic disease that she lived with for 29 years (and that claimed the lives of her two older sisters). For those of you who had the blessing of knowing Amy, you will know why one long listening is dedicated to her. I hope the book does justice to her radiant spirit.
one long listening is the most personal work I've ever written, and also the most experimental. You can get a sense of the multiple strands that make up the book here. I think of this memoir as a multilingual love letter to the patients, family, staff, and spiritual care team at the hospital where I served for that life-changing year—as well as a love letter to my family and ancestors; to Amy; to grief itself.
It is also a love letter to the places (Shanghai, Pittsburgh, Bothell/Kenmore, Berkeley/Oakland, Phnom Penh, Bangkok) and languages (Shanghainese, Mandarin, Khmer, Thai, Japanese) that have formed me. I first encountered Buddhist chaplaincy under the tutelage of Rev. Beth Goldring and the Cambodian staff of Brahmavihara, a nonprofit in Phnom Penh. Buddhist chant for the end of life was an indispensable part of their spiritual care. My partner Trent Walker's recent book, Until Nirvana's Time: Buddhist Songs from Cambodia, ferries these chants to English speakers in the Cambodian diaspora and beyond. Until Nirvana’s Time and my first book, Be the Refuge, are older cousins to one long listening. All three books emerge from the need to honor our dead, to mourn our losses, to gladden our spirits.
A recent Gallup study found that 1 in 4 Americans has been served by a chaplain. I hope one long listening can play a part in collective efforts to diversify the broad and essential field of spiritual care. My Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) supervisors gave me the courage to write: "Chaplaincy needs writers too," they said. I hope this book does justice to the fierce wisdom that Carrie Buckner, Va' Nechia Rayford, and LaVera Crawley have imparted to me and many other CPE students.
As I learned from Be the Refuge, connecting a book with its readers is a gradual, grassroots effort. If you have a spare moment in these coming weeks, here are some ways to support the launch of one long listening:
I've had the joy of connecting with some of you quite recently; for others, it's been a while. Either way, I'm glad our paths have crossed—in-person or digitally—and hope this message finds you well, wherever it reaches you. For those of you in the Bay, it would be wonderful to see you at Green Apple on April 12th or the Marsh on May 6th, especially since Trent and I will be moving to Ann Arbor this summer. For those in Seattle, it'd be great to see you on April 25th!
Warmly,
~Chenxing
