(June 4, 2004) — The Korean War was a time of great hardship for many innocent families caught in its midst. Starvation, death and separation from family were all normal occurrences that people had to endure. Standing in the auditeria, Helie Lee, author of the biography Still Life with Rice , spoke May 27 to about 135 sophomores in Chris and Jennifer Davis’ Humanities class regarding the biography of her “Halmuni,” or grandmother, who suffered through the Korean War. In the block-long assembly, Lee spoke about various subjects, ranging from the time she went to Korea and China to discover her family’s roots to interviewing and writing her grandmother’s memoirs, which include her time in the Korean War and enduring the death of her husband. Aside from Still Life with Rice , Lee also talked about its sequel, In the Absence of Sun , which concludes the sub-plot about how Helie’s uncle separated from his family at the tender age of sixteen during the Korean War. Towards the end, Lee spoke of when she actually went to the North/South Korean border in an attempt to reunite her aging grandmother with her long-lost son. She also read a few excerpts of her soon-to-be-published book, Macho Like Me , in which she chronicles the time she spent impersonating a male to illustrate the chauvinist ideas that dominate many cultures. Sophomores also had the rare opportunity to ask her questions about any of the topics she talked about. “I was very touched by reading the book, but actually hearing about Helie Lee’s family straight from her lips made it all the better,” said sophomore Raf Garcia.