Nicole Chung

Nicole Chung is the author of the memoir All You Can Ever Know

How a Pandemic Puppy Saved My Grieving Family

For years, whenever our children asked us if we could get a dog, my husband...

For years, whenever our children asked us if we could get a dog, my husband and I had some vague and only slightly encouraging go-to responses, such as, “Someday?” and “Maybe when you’re old enough...

An attendee of a vigil kneels in front of a candle and flowers in memory of those who were killed in the shooting in Atlanta, on March 20, 2021.

My White Adoptive Parents Struggled to See Me as Korean. Would They Have Understood My Anger at the Rise in Anti-Asian Violence?

For the last year, and especially since the devastating Atlanta-area murder...

For the last year, and especially since the devastating Atlanta-area murders on March 16, many of my Asian American friends have been sharing deeply personal, painful stories of talking with their parents and elders, pleading...

I Thought I'd Get to See My Mother Again. Then the Pandemic Hit

This year on my mother’s birthday, in October, I woke up from one of many d...

This year on my mother’s birthday, in October, I woke up from one of many dreams I’ve had about her since her death. I’d been sitting with family and friends in my grandmother’s backyard, our...

The author and her mother, photographed in Oregon in the 1980s.

Visiting My Sick Mom Could Put Her Life at Greater Risk. But How Many More Times Will I Get to See Her?

Businesses, basketball games, Broadway shows, baby showers—every area of li...

Businesses, basketball games, Broadway shows, baby showers—every area of life has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s impossible to go an hour without hearing of another cancellation or closure. Like many others, I’ve spent...