Goodbye, Dear Julia.

I’m probably the last person in the blogosphere to have heard the news, but Julia (of Julia’s JAM) passed away on May 31st after a long battle with leukemia .

I didn’t know Julia as well as I would have liked to, unfortunately. What I did know about her was that she was articulate, smart, generous and insightful. She was a Korean adoptee who wrote with wrenching honesty about her experiences and feelings in dealing with that. Julia’s quest to discover more about her roots in Korea often left her with more questions than answers, I believe, and that makes me sad for her. So young, just beginning her life, and there seemed to be so much more she wanted to do, so many vital directions her life was headed. All cut terribly short by a disease that respects no boundaries.

Her voice was strong, her soul was strong, her will was strong. Her poor body simply couldn’t keep up in the end, I suppose. I must confess that my faith in a heaven or afterlife as I have traditionally been taught about it has become very limited these days. Particularly in this case, though, I hope I am wrong. I hope that someone with a face and eyes and smile that Julia recognized instinctively (because they were very like her own) was waiting to embrace her, to welcome her, to give her all the answers she ever longed for.

Julia, you will be deeply missed. My family and I send all our sympathy to those who knew and loved you and are missing you so much right now. May you be at peace.