Posted on Aug 18, 2022
It took 20 years for this author to reunite with the teacher who changed his life
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https://www.npr.org/2022/08/17/ [login to see] /after-20-years-author-jamil-jan-kochai-reunites-with-teacher-susan-lung
Talk about a storybook ending.
Author Jamil Jan Kochai searched for more than a decade for Susan Lung — the second-grade teacher who had changed his life over 20 years earlier. And on Saturday night, in one of those "life is better than fiction" twists, the two were finally reunited at one of his book-reading events.
"I pretty much learned how to read and write in English because of her, and if it wasn't for Mrs. Lung, I don't know what would have happened to me," Kochai, who still finds it difficult to call his former teacher by her first name, told NPR.
"I feel like everything that I've done up to this point — all the success that I've had, the fact that I'm a novelist today — it all started with Mrs. Lung all the way back in 1999, when I was 7 years old," he added.
Kochai is the author of 99 Nights in Logar, a finalist for the Pen/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. He is currently promoting his second book, The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories. His work has been published and praised in many of the nation's most esteemed publications. But for much of his early life, he could hardly speak English.
Talk about a storybook ending.
Author Jamil Jan Kochai searched for more than a decade for Susan Lung — the second-grade teacher who had changed his life over 20 years earlier. And on Saturday night, in one of those "life is better than fiction" twists, the two were finally reunited at one of his book-reading events.
"I pretty much learned how to read and write in English because of her, and if it wasn't for Mrs. Lung, I don't know what would have happened to me," Kochai, who still finds it difficult to call his former teacher by her first name, told NPR.
"I feel like everything that I've done up to this point — all the success that I've had, the fact that I'm a novelist today — it all started with Mrs. Lung all the way back in 1999, when I was 7 years old," he added.
Kochai is the author of 99 Nights in Logar, a finalist for the Pen/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. He is currently promoting his second book, The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories. His work has been published and praised in many of the nation's most esteemed publications. But for much of his early life, he could hardly speak English.
It took 20 years for this author to reunite with the teacher who changed his life
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Reunited and it feels so good
"Again, it was my husband who had the idea, to go to the reading on Saturday," Lung said.
Lung's husband had seen a Facebook post about Kochai's new book and suggested they make the drive to a reading in Davis, California.
"I had no idea they were going to be there," Kochai said, sounding absolutely delighted.
"I don't know how I didn't see her before, but Mrs. Lung was sitting in the front row. I mean, it had been 20 to 22 years since the last time I'd seen her," he reasoned.
They hugged and he gushed, and she asked him to sign her copy of his first novel.
"And I got to leave a little note for her explaining how much she meant to me. And it was a really lovely evening," Kochai added.
They exchanged numbers again, and now they've made a new plan. "We're going to have a big family dinner next week!" Kochai said.
In the meantime, Lung has some homework: "I am part of the way through his first book and I just got his second book at the reading, so I'll be reading that when I'm finished."
..."Reunited and it feels so good
"Again, it was my husband who had the idea, to go to the reading on Saturday," Lung said.
Lung's husband had seen a Facebook post about Kochai's new book and suggested they make the drive to a reading in Davis, California.
"I had no idea they were going to be there," Kochai said, sounding absolutely delighted.
"I don't know how I didn't see her before, but Mrs. Lung was sitting in the front row. I mean, it had been 20 to 22 years since the last time I'd seen her," he reasoned.
They hugged and he gushed, and she asked him to sign her copy of his first novel.
"And I got to leave a little note for her explaining how much she meant to me. And it was a really lovely evening," Kochai added.
They exchanged numbers again, and now they've made a new plan. "We're going to have a big family dinner next week!" Kochai said.
In the meantime, Lung has some homework: "I am part of the way through his first book and I just got his second book at the reading, so I'll be reading that when I'm finished."
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