(June 3, 2003) — Author Helie Lee came to speak to the humanities students Thursday to discuss her best-seller, Still Life With Rice and to share her post-book experiences. Students in the humanities class finished reading Still Life with Rice the week prior to Lee’s visit. Lee was raised in Southern California and many students said they were delighted that she she could come visit. Lee explained the process of authoring the novel both emotionally and methodically. She explained how she was born in America and felt her Korean heritage to be a “disgrace.” However, as she grew up, she became interested in her culture and was especially fascinated about her grandmother’s life story. Still Life With Rice is about Lee’s grandmothers’ harsh encounters and losses during the Korean War. During this war, Lee’s grandmother is separated from her oldest son, Yongwoon and is forced to stay behind in North Korea. 47 years after their parting, Lee’s grandmother receives a letter saying that her estranged son was still alive in North Korea––this concluded the book. Students were curious about what happened after she found out this exciting news. Lee explained in detail what happened next. She said because North Korea is a Communist regime, the chances of her grandmother seeing her son again were most likely impossible. However, Lee explained that they received a call one day from a man in China telling them that he met Yongwoon and was willing to help reunite them. Excited, Lee, along with her father and grandmother traveled to China. Lee related a touching account of the horrific atrocities experienced along the border of North Korea and China. To many of the students delight, the gripping tale of Still Life with Rice is far from over. In her sequel, In the Absence of Sun , Lee depicts the second half of her tale. During her visit, Lee repeateadly stressed that she wanted the rest of the world to know about the horrible conditions that North Koreans deal with and her sequel was a way of opening peoples’ eyes. “Meeting the author, made the book seem real to me,” commented sophomore Sareen Kelzi. Many students who were eager to know more about her life, asked questions that she happily answered. Afterwords, students were able to purchase a copy of both the novels and have them authographed.